August 6, 2008

Good News for Gorillas

Scientists discover 125,000 endangered gorillas in central Africa

By Vickie An

On Tuesday, researchers announced a remarkable find that will have wildlife enthusiasts going absolutely ape. A recent census, conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), reports the discovery of 125,000 western lowland gorillas living deep in the forests and swamps of the Republic of the Congo, in Africa. If confirmed, the tally would more than double the current estimated population of the critically endangered primate.

THOMAS BREUER—WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY/AP A western lowland gorilla silverback travels with other group members in the Republic of the Congo.

A New Hope

The WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, worked with the government of the Republic of the Congo to carry out the survey. The project covered 18,000 square miles in two areas of the northern part of the country. In the 1980s, estimates placed the western lowland gorilla's numbers at less than 100,000. Since then, scientists believe that the spread of disease and illegal hunting of the animal for food has likely wiped the population in half.

The new census figures raise the total estimated population of western lowland gorillas surviving in the wild to between 175,000 and 225,000. "This is a very significant discovery because of the terrible decline in population of these magnificent creatures to [diseases, such as the Ebola virus,] and bush meat," said Emma Stokes, one of the lead researchers on the WCS team.

Out For the Count

The gorillas are very shy and cautious of people. That makes it harder to count them one by one. To tally the number of gorillas in the region, researchers counted the animals' sleeping "nests." Each night, the gorillas build short-term beds. The nests are put together with leaves and branches.

"If these census results are confirmed, they are incredibly important and exciting," said Craig Stanford, a professor at the Jane Goodall Research Center at the University of Southern California. "[It's] the kind of good news we rarely find in the conservations of highly endangered animals." However, Stanford remains cautious about the findings until the numbers are confirmed by other surveys, adding that nest counts can change from one census method to the next.

Western lowland gorillas are found in the tropical forests and swamps of seven central African nations. In addition to the Republic of the Congo, the gorillas also live in Congo, Cameroon, Angola, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The western lowland gorillas are one of four gorilla subspecies. The others include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and Cross River gorillas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed all of them as endangered or critically endangered.

While the new census is important, Stokes made it clear that the gorilla populations in the wild are far from being safe. "The gorillas are still under threat from Ebola and hunting," she said. "Ebola can wipe out thousands in a short period of time."

A Plea For Primates

The WCS released the census results during a meeting of the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Tuesday. Scientists at the conference presented a detailed review of the planet's apes, monkeys and lemurs. The report warned that nearly half of the 634 types of primates in the world - from the mighty mountain gorillas to the tiny mouse lemurs - are in danger of becoming extinct as a result of humans.

The review is part of a larger look into the state of the world's mammals. The complete findings will be released in October at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Scientists hope the report will help encourage global action to save the primates.

"It is not too late for our close cousins, the primates," said Russell A. Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and an IUCN chairman. "What we have now is a challenge to turn this around."

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