Wildlife Conservation Society researchers have found approximately 125,000 endangered western lowland gorilla in a relatively small part of the Northern Republic of Congo. That’s more than double the number of western lowland gorillas thought to exist in the world. From CNN:
Acting on a tip from hunters who indicated the presence of gorillas, (researcher Hugo) Rainey said that the researchers trekked on foot through mud for three days to the outskirts of Lac Tele, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the nearest road.
“When we went there, we found an astonishing amount of gorillas,” said Rainey, speaking from the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland…“This is the highest-known density of gorillas that’s ever been found,” Rainey said.
Western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered, the highest threat category for a species. Their populations are declining rapidly because of hunting and diseases like Ebola hemorrhagic fever…
“More than 100,000 rare gorillas found in Congo” (CNN)
“Wildlife Conservation Society Discovers “‘Planet of the Apes'” (WFC)