Efforts to save mountain gorilla help species to take a step away from looming extinction
CONSERVATION EFFORTS have helped mountain gorillas take a step back from the brink of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said.
The subspecies of gorilla, which is found in two areas on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, has moved from ‘critically endangered’ status to ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Anti-poaching patrols, removal of snares and work with communities who live around the protected areas have helped boost the gorilla population from an estimated 680 in 2008 to more than 1,000 in 2018.
Dr Liz Williamson of the IUCN primate specialist group said it was “fantastic news” that the mountain gorillas are increasing in number, but warned they were still endangered and conservation action must continue in the region.
Fauna and Flora International (FFI), which established the International Gorilla Conservation Programme in 1991 to protect the mountain gorillas, has called for conservation efforts to be enhanced, not weakened, following the news.
Matt Walpole, from FFI said: “Mountain gorillas remain threatened with extinction despite the significant conservation efforts over recent decades, and we have to make sure we build on these achievements and not allow this success to become an excuse for weakening protections.”
There is also good news for the fin whale, which has seen its status improve from endangered to the less severe category of ‘vulnerable’ in the latest update of the Red List.
In total, 96,951 species are assessed on the Red List, and 26,840 are considered to be threatened with extinction.