Mountain Gorillas

Mountain gorillas are a subspecies of eastern gorillas that dwell in two separate groups in high-altitude forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The Virunga Landscape has a long history of political turmoil, and significant levels of poverty in the area don’t make the situation any better. Because of the poverty, people have migrated closer and closer to the habitat of these great apes, searching for food, housing, and land. Over 500,000 people now live in the vicinity of mountain gorilla habitat. 

Despite this, mountain gorillas are making a potential comeback thanks to conservation programs and initiatives from local and international partners, as well as the WWF through the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.