Mountain gorillas have recovered to over 1,000 individuals through intensive conservation, but face ongoing welfare threats from respiratory disease, snares, and habitat pressure.
Mountain gorilla welfare depends critically on managing the tension between conservation funding through tourism and the disease risk that human contact creates. Habituated gorilla groups generate essential revenue but face elevated respiratory disease risk from tourist proximity. Strict protocols — minimum 7-meter visitor distance, mandatory face masks, and exclusion of sick tourists — reduce but cannot eliminate transmission risk. Snare injuries from traps set for other animals require active management through daily removal patrols. The extraordinary conservation success of mountain gorillas demonstrates what sustained, well-funded protection can achieve.