THE LAST STAND OF THE - GRASP

Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
Savage, 1847
Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
(Savage, 1847)
Red List: Critically Endangered
Distribution: Angola (Cabinda only), Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Congo, DRC (far western border near Cabinda
only), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
CITES: Appendix I since 1975
CMS: Annex 1 since 2005
Population: Fewer than 200,000. In 2008 the discovery of
previously uncounted gorilla populations with higher than
expected densities in northern Congo led to a reappraisal of
the number of Western Lowland Gorillas. The widely reported
figure of 125,000 ‘lost’ gorillas was erroneous because at least
46,000 of this number had previously been counted (Stokes,
et al., 2008). Nonetheless, the dense populations reported from
Raphia swamps boosted population estimates to twice the previous
estimate. This should not detract from the seriousness
of the declines reported by Walsh, et al., 2003 (a 50 per cent
decline in Gabon due to a combination of ebola and bushmeat
hunting). The fact that ebola outbreaks pose a more serious
threat to dense populations and the continuing threat of commercial
bushmeat hunters led the IUCN Red List Assessment
to retain the Critically Endangered status despite the revised
population estimate.
Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
(Matschie, 1904; Sarmiento and Oates, 2000)
Red List: Critically Endangered
Distribution: Nigeria (Cross River State only) and Cameroon
(SW Province only).
CITES: Appendix I since 1975
CMS: Annex 1 since 2005
Population: Fewer than 300, in 11 sub-populations this is the
most endangered kind of gorilla. In the 1970s it was thought
to be extinct in Nigeria and heading that way in Cameroon, but
recent surveys conclude there are 75–110 individuals in Nigeria
and 125–185 in Cameroon (Oates et al., 2007). The Cross River
Gorilla featured in the IUCN list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered
Primates 2008–2010.
14