Apparently it isn’t only human caretakers who have to worry about how much time their teenagers spend on their phones. Zookeepers at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago say that a teenage male gorilla named Amare is spending so much time looking at visitors’ phones that it’s distracting him from important real-life interactions with his […]
By John C. Cannon The outlook for eastern Africa’s mountain gorillas is growing brighter, as a recent census released on Dec. 16 shows that the subspecies’ numbers have risen since 2011. Scientists believe there are now at least 1,063 mountain gorillas living in the wild. Tara Stoinski, the CEO and chief scientific officer of the […]
First, the good news. Collaborative conservation efforts have brought “renewed hope” for mountain gorillas and two large whale species, according to today’s update from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The mountain gorilla subspecies moved from “critically endangered” to “endangered” due to anti-poaching patrols and veterinary interventions. In […]
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida announced on Wednesday the arrival of a healthy baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species. The 4.8-pound female was born last Friday and has not yet been given a name, according to the zoo’s press release. The zoo said that the baby’s mother, a 22-year-old named Kumbuka, initially […]
Koko, the beloved western lowland gorilla who could communicate with sign language, died at age 46, the Gorilla Foundation announced. She died in her sleep on Tuesday morning in Woodside, California. “Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication and empathy. She was beloved and […]
Numbers of critically endangered mountain gorillas are on the up, following conservation efforts in the transboundary Virunga Massif, one of the two remaining areas where the great ape is still found. Survey results released Thursday reveal that numbers have increased to 604 from an estimated 480 in 2010, including 41 social groups, along with 14 […]
A wildlife ranger tasked with protecting critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas was killed this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kahuzi Biega National Park, Mongabay reported. Munganga Nzonga Jacques, 26, died Oct. 4 in an area in the Tshivanga region of the park, an area previously believed to be safe for the gorillas, showing the […]
The London Zoo was placed on lockdown Thursday after a 400-pound adult western lowland silverback gorilla escaped from his enclosure around 5:15 p.m. local time. Visitors at the Gorilla Kingdom exhibit were given quite a scare when the 18-year-old silverback, Kumbuka, began smashing his way out of the enclosure—a few seconds of which was caught […]