Mountain gorillas have never been successfully kept in captivity long-term. Their conservation depends entirely on in-situ wild protection, making their welfare exclusively a wild animal issue.
Mountain gorilla welfare is managed entirely in the wild through veterinary intervention teams (Gorilla Doctors) that treat injuries, disease, and snare-related wounds in habituated groups. Snare injuries cause limb loss and death if untreated. Disease transmission from humans is a major welfare risk managed through distance regulations and tourist health screening. The success of mountain gorilla conservation demonstrates that in-situ protection, when properly funded and enforced, can recover critically endangered species without captive breeding.