Status
Endangered
Habitat
Afromontane cloud forest, 2,200–4,300 m
Range
Africa
Group
Primates
The only great ape whose numbers are rising.
The population has climbed from around 250 in the 1980s to over a thousand today. It was achieved with intensive veterinary care, community revenue-sharing from tourism, and armed protection in an active conflict zone — an expensive, unglamorous model that worked.
Every individual is known. Habituation for tourism is also the surveillance system that keeps them alive; the tension between disturbance and protection is permanent and openly debated.
Frames in the archive
Full gallery
Held Breath
Volcanoes NP — eight metres, no lens change.
