- On September 24, we have the chance to commemorate gorillas on World Gorilla Day.
- Only 1,000 mountain gorillas remain in two incredibly deep forests in central Africa.
- To protect the gorillas from COVID-19, villagers were urged to get immunized.
Every year on September 24, people all across the world have the chance to commemorate and defend gorillas on World Gorilla Day.
Only 1,000 mountain gorillas remain in the wild today, and they are only found in two incredibly deep forests in central Africa.
Preserving gorillas
Since the 1980s, this number has progressively risen as a result of conservation and restoration activities. Half of the world‘s remaining gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, which spans Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
To allow native forest species to repopulate, exotic trees were removed from Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park as part of restoration operations.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, leading to the closure of Bwindi National Park and a rise in gorilla-human encounters. The Uganda Wildlife Authority and neighborhood environmentalists sent fast-growing saplings to villages for food while educating locals about environmental concerns and the risks of eating bush meat.
To protect the gorillas from COVID-19, villagers were urged to get immunized, especially those who worked in the park. To stop the spread of airborne infections, visitors were also advised to wear masks, sterilize, and maintain a social distance from the gorillas.
