Mountain gorillas are a remarkable conservation success, recovering from under 300 to over 1,000 individuals. But the welfare implications of the tourism that funds their protection deserve examination.
Mountain gorilla welfare in tourism contexts involves a genuine tradeoff. Tourism revenue has directly funded anti-poaching, veterinary intervention, and habitat protection that have driven population recovery. However, habituated gorillas exposed to human visitors face infection risk from human respiratory pathogens — several gorilla groups have suffered illness following tourist exposure. The one-hour daily maximum exposure time is a welfare protection but requires strict enforcement. Silverback males that become aggressive toward tourists may be perceived as threats, creating conflict risk. Individual gorilla welfare and population-level conservation outcomes have so far been mostly aligned — the challenge is maintaining this alignment as tourism pressure grows.