WesternGorilla.org is an informal alliance of gorilla researchers and conservationists. We are eyewitnesses to a tragedy that most of the world knows little about: the rapid decline of Western gorillas, which only a decade ago were thought to be relatively safe. We have watched with increasing dismay as conservation efforts have failed to address the major cause of Western gorilla decline, the commercial trade in gorilla meat.
We believe that saving Western gorillas will require a dramatic change in conservation strategy: a drastic increase in the budget for law enforcement. Unfortunately, law enforcement is a controversial activity that donors and decision makers are hesitant to embrace. Only strong public support for increased law enforcement is likely to catalyze a change. Please help us in pushing for changes that will ensure that our children live in a world with wild gorillas.
The Western Lowland Gorilla
The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is the most widespread of all gorilla subspecies, yet remains the most at risk. It inhabits the remote lowland rainforests and swamps of Central Africa, specifically in the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, and parts of Angola.
Despite its wider distribution, this subspecies faces escalating threats, placing it on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. The population is estimated to have declined by more than 60% over the last 25 years. The primary drivers of this collapse include habitat degradation, poaching, and viral outbreaks such as Ebola. In some regions, entire gorilla groups have vanished in a single year due to disease transmission. The absence of reliable population-wide census data makes conservation planning particularly difficult.
Cross River Gorillas
Some facts about Western gorillas
Wild gorillas live in Central Africa, in the band of lush forest that straddles the Equator. Th gorilla range spans about 1500m (2,400km), from Uganda on the east to Nigeria on the west. Within gorillas there are two major geographic groups: Eastern gorillas and Western gorillas. Western gorillas show a variety of genetic, morphological, behavioral and ecological traits that are different from the better known Eastern gorillas. Whether or not Western gorillas constitute a distinct species is a controversial issue that has yet to be resolved.
Eastern gorillas include very small mountain populations; the famous mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Virunga Mountains that spread over Rwanda, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a slightly larger population in the Eastern lowland gorillas of DR Congo east of the Congo River. Eastern gorilla populations are highly fragmented and severely threatened by grazing and forest conversion to agriculture, a consequence of the explosive growth of human populations in the region over the last half century. Over the last decade, a flood of refugees and general lawlessness resulting from civil strife in Rwanda and eastern DR Congo have also created an epidemic of gorilla hunting that has had a severe impact Eastern lowland gorilla populations.
Although as a recently as a century ago Eastern and Western gorillas were only separated by a couple of hundred miles, western gorilla range now begins nearly 750m (1200km) to the west of Eastern gorilla range: roughly the distance between New York and Chicago (London and Rome). On the periphery of Western Gorilla range (for example, Nigeria, DRC, and the Cabinda enclave of Angola) small remnant populations are highly threatened by both habitat conversion (grazing & agriculture) and hunting. However most Eastern gorillas, in fact most of the world’s gorillas, live in areas with relatively low human population density.
Three countries house the bulk of remaining gorillas. The small country of Gabon probably has the most, with substantial populations also in Congo Republic (Congo Brazzaville) and Cameroon. The Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea have smaller, but appreciable populations. Thought to be relatively safe as recently as a decade ago, these populations have suffered from exploding commercial market in gorilla meat.
Exactly how many Western gorillas remain in these countries is very unclear, but all signs are that the populations have been heavily depleted over the last decade. A regionwide survey to assess gorilla numbers and distribution is probably the second immediate conservation priority behind increased law enforcement. Building a system of well managed protected areas (parks and reserves) is the highest medium to long term priority.