Only 300 are believed to remain in the wild. Last year, a very rare photograph was taken of a family of Cross River Gorillas. This entire family of the world's rarest great ape was photographed in the mountains of southern Nigeria. It is the most endangered gorilla subspecies in the world.
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New hope for the species
According to The Guardian, which revealed this beautiful discovery, it was the photographic traps set up by WCS Nigeria that made it possible to obtain shots of an entire family. The images are ‘encouraging,’ according to Inaoyom Imong, director of WCS Nigeria's Cross River Gorilla Landscape project. This new sighting gives hope that their species could recover after decades of persecution. Imong told The Guardian:
It is extremely exciting to see so many young Cross River Gorillas, an encouraging indication that these gorillas are now well protected and reproducing successfully after decades of poaching.
Although hunters in the region no longer target gorillas, the threat of hunting remains and we must continue to improve the effectiveness of our protection efforts.
Victims of poaching
Extremely wary of humans after decades of poaching, these gorillas were rediscovered in the 1980s. The last remaining individuals usually reside in the deepest and most inaccessible areas.
