Mountain gorillas cannot survive in captivity — all conservation efforts focus on in-situ protection. Understanding this case illustrates how different circumstances call for different conservation approaches.
Mountain gorilla conservation represents a pure in-situ success story — no captive program exists, and all welfare considerations center on wild individuals. The habituation required for tourism creates a welfare tension: groups accustomed to human presence generate essential conservation funding but are more vulnerable to human-transmitted disease. COVID-19 underlined this risk dramatically. Welfare considerations in mountain gorilla conservation include: minimizing disease transmission through strict health protocols for trekkers and rangers, managing group dynamics when habituated individuals encounter unhabituated groups, and reducing human-caused injuries including wire snares set for other species. The success of mountain gorilla conservation shows what intensive protection can achieve.