NEW YORK (April 14, 2011)鈥擜 census team led by the 菊花视频 and the Insitut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo today announced some encouraging news from a region plagued by warfare and insecurity: a small population of Grauer鈥檚 gorillas has not only survived, but also increased since the last census. The census, conducted late 2010 in the highland sector of Kahuzi-Biega National Park, revealed the presence of 181 individual Grauer鈥檚 gorillas, up from 168 individuals detected in the same sector in 2004. A 鈥渃ousin鈥� to the more famous mountain gorilla, the Grauer鈥檚 gorilla is the largest subspecies of gorilla in the world, growing up to 500 pounds. The Grauer鈥檚 gorilla (also known as the eastern lowland gorilla) is the least known subspecies, due in large part to the 15 years of insecurity in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The gorilla is listed as 鈥淓ndangered鈥� on the International Union for Conservation of Nature鈥檚 (IUCN鈥檚) Red List and may number fewer than 4,000 individual animals. 鈥淲e had several close calls with armed militias during the survey,鈥� said Deo Kujirakwinja, WCS鈥檚 Albertine Rift Coordinator in DRC. 鈥淭hankfully, no one was hurt, and our census result is positive news for the conservation community.鈥� The census team surveyed the 600-square-kilometer highland sector of the park. The lowland sector has been largely inaccessible to researchers due to the frequent presence of militia. Census teams used nest counts鈥攇orillas make a nest each night鈥攁long with the size of nearby dung (the size of which indicates how many adults, juveniles, and infants occur in a group) to estimate the total number of gorillas in the area. 鈥淕iven the insecurity that has been present here for so long, we were not sure what we would find,鈥� said Radar Nshuli, Chief Park Warden for Kahuzi-Biega. 鈥淲e were very happy to see that all the efforts that our staff and partners have been taking are leading to a growth in the population.鈥� The 菊花视频鈥檚 field staff have been monitoring the region鈥檚 gorillas since the 1950s, when preeminent field biologist George Schaller first surveyed the distribution of what would later become classified as Grauer鈥檚 and mountain gorillas. Since then, surveys have revealed that in the highland sector of Kahuzi Grauer鈥檚 number climbed from 223 animals in the 1970s to 250 in the early 1990s before crashing to 130 in 2000 following the outbreak of civil war in the region. 鈥淕iven we were unable to survey the entire highland sector, we are hopeful that our minimum count of 181 might actually be higher than this,鈥� said Dr. Andy Plumptre, Director of WCS鈥檚 Albertine Rift Program. 鈥淲e hope to be able to survey some of the areas we were unable to visit in the near future.鈥� 鈥淭his census finding gives us great hope for the future of the Grauer鈥檚 gorilla,鈥� said Dr. James Deutsch, Director of WCS鈥檚 Africa Program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a testament to the courage of our colleagues working to protect a World Heritage site in this challenging landscape.鈥� Grauer鈥檚 gorillas are one of four recognized gorilla sub-species, which also include mountain gorillas, western lowland gorillas, and Cross River gorillas. The 菊花视频 is one of the only conservation groups working to safeguard all four subspecies. WCS receives support for this work from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Ape TAG Conservation Initiative. The initiative provides support to high-priority ape populations and sites with funds generated by contributions from supporting AZA zoos. This funding makes possible additional ranger patrols of the protected area, a more effective data management system, and promotes community awareness on the importance of gorillas in the region. 聽
Contact: John Delaney: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org) Stephen Sautner: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org) The 菊花视频 saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.
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