Huge boost to gorilla numbers

A huge population of 125,000 western lowland gorillas has been discovered deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo. The Wildlife Conservation Society said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country which covers 18,000 square miles. Previous estimates, dating to the 1980s, put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. And the primate's numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 per cent since then due to hunting and disease, researchers said. But the newly discovered gorilla population has now dramatically boosted their estimated numbers to around 175,000 to 225,000. The Wildlife Conservation Society President's Steven Sanderson called it "one of the greatest finds in recent African conservation history." But he said the organisation also feels "a sense of urgency." "We immediately felt, 'Well, we've gotta be able to deliver on this.' And so there's a combination of great pride and joy followed by real urgency that we need to deliver for these animals," he said. The researchers in the Republic of Congo, neighbour of the much larger Democratic Republic of Congo, worked out the population figures by counting the sleeping "nests" gorillas make. The creatures are too reclusive and shy to count individually. Western lowland gorillas are one of four gorilla subspecies, which also include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and cross river gorillas. All are labelled either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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ITN | August 6, 2008

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