Mountain gorillas have made a remarkable recovery from near-extinction through intensive conservation efforts, but continued welfare threats from habitat encroachment, disease, and snares require ongoing vigilance.
Mountain gorilla welfare reflects both conservation success and continued vulnerability. Snares set for bushmeat species trap gorillas that then suffer leg amputations, infection, and death if veterinary intervention does not occur quickly. Respiratory diseases transmitted from tourists or park workers cause severe illness in animals with no immunity. The habituation process required for tourism, which creates the revenue funding conservation, involves repeated exposure to humans that changes gorilla behavior. Individual gorillas known to rangers and researchers have distinct welfare histories that can be monitored and responded to over decades-long relationships. The welfare of mountain gorillas is genuinely improved by the conservation infrastructure surrounding them, demonstrating that population conservation and individual welfare can reinforce each other.