125,000 Gorillas Found in Congo Forests

[Shirleypal]

By BEN McCONVILLE, APposted: 17 MINUTES Science News, EDINBURGH, Scotland (Aug. 5) -- Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal's estimated population.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, based at New York's Bronx Zoo, and the Republic of Congo said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country covering 18,000 square miles.

Previous estimates, dating to the 1980s, put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. But the animal's numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 percent since then due to hunting and disease, researchers said. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000.
"This is a very significant discovery because of the terrible decline in population of these magnificent creatures to Ebola and bush meat," said Emma Stokes, one of the research team.


More info and photos at link

[bonzelite]

widespread news of this, hopefully, will not ring the signal to go and hunt them to extinction from their once "secret" places. The rationale can now be "well, look... there are more of them now than thought.... we can shoot more."