In 1981 there were an estimated 254 mountain gorillas left. The most recent surveys put the total at over a thousand, and the subspecies was downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2018 — the only great ape whose numbers are rising.
- 1981 estimate
- ~254 mountain gorillas
- Recent surveys
- Over 1,000
- Bwindi–Sarambwe
- 459 at the last census
- Virunga massif
- 604 at the last census
- Status change
- Critically Endangered to Endangered, 2018
- Still
- Endangered — the recovery is not finished
What turned it around
Three things, working together. Ranger patrols that remove snares and maintain a permanent presence in the forest. Veterinary intervention — Gorilla Doctors and partners treat snare injuries and respiratory infections in the field, and a meaningful share of the population alive today received treatment at some point. And tourism revenue that funds the first two and gives neighbouring communities a direct financial reason to want the forest intact.
None of these works alone. Enforcement without community benefit produces resentment; community benefit without enforcement produces snares.
What your permit pays for
The Uganda Wildlife Authority and Rwanda Development Board are largely self-funding from tourism. Your permit contributes to ranger and tracker salaries, daily monitoring of every habituated family, snare-removal patrols, veterinary response, and a revenue-sharing scheme that returns a proportion of park income to surrounding communities for schools, clinics and water projects.
The daily tracking that makes a 95%-plus sighting rate possible is the same activity that provides the health monitoring. Tourism and protection are the same operation.
The rules, and why they are strict
Eight visitors, one hour, seven metres, no visits when ill. Gorillas share the overwhelming majority of our DNA and are susceptible to human respiratory disease; a common cold can kill an infant. Limits on group size and duration exist to cap disease risk and stress, and they are the reason permits are scarce and expensive.
Anyone who tells you the rules can be bent for a photograph is telling you something important about themselves.
What still threatens them
- Habitat pressure. These are small forests surrounded by some of the densest rural populations in Africa.
- Snares set for antelope and bushpig, which catch gorillas incidentally.
- Disease transmission from humans — the reason for every rule on the trek.
- Instability in eastern DRC, where rangers have paid an extraordinary price to keep Virunga functioning.
- Revenue shocks. When tourism stops, as it did in 2020, the funding model stops with it.
What we do
We contribute annually to Conservation Through Public Health and Bwindi Community Hospital, use community-owned lodges where they are genuinely good, pay porters above the going rate on our own departures, and carry filtered water rather than cases of plastic bottles. We would rather list four specific things than make a broad claim.
The most useful thing you do is come, follow the rules, and spend locally. See responsible travel.
Questions
Frequently asked
How many mountain gorillas are left?
Over a thousand — the most recent surveys put Bwindi–Sarambwe at 459 and the Virunga massif at 604. Both figures are from full censuses rather than estimates, and both have risen.
Are mountain gorillas still endangered?
Yes. They were downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2018, which reflects real recovery, not safety. A population of a thousand in two small forests remains fragile.
Does tourism harm gorillas?
Unmanaged, it would. Managed as it is — eight visitors, one hour, strict distance and health rules — the evidence is that the benefits have substantially outweighed the risks. The rules are the whole reason that is true.
Next
Keep planning
- Responsible travel — what you can actually do
- The Batwa cultural experience — who paid for the parks
- Permits and costs — where the money goes
- About us — how we work