Mountain gorillas are one of conservation's greatest success stories, with populations growing from fewer than 250 to over 1,000 individuals through sustained protection. Their welfare depends on continued anti-poaching efforts and disease prevention.
Mountain gorilla welfare is shaped by the success of intensive conservation efforts. Daily ranger monitoring enables rapid welfare intervention — snare removals, veterinary treatment, and disease management. The proximity to humans through tourism creates disease transmission risk that requires strict health protocols including minimum visitor distances and mask requirements. Individual gorillas that develop respiratory infections receive veterinary treatment through the Gorilla Doctors programme, with careful decisions about intervention balancing welfare benefits against stress of human contact. The welfare of dominant silverbacks, who bear enormous stress protecting groups from rival males, requires particular attention. Conservation success here demonstrates what sustained, well-funded individual welfare attention can achieve at the population level.