Mountain gorillas cannot survive in captivity, making in-situ protection essential. Their population recovery from fewer than 400 is a landmark conservation achievement.
Mountain gorilla welfare is entirely dependent on in-situ protection programs given the impossibility of captive management. Individual gorilla welfare within protected populations is monitored by veterinary teams from Gorilla Doctors, who provide medical intervention for injuries, respiratory infections, and snare entanglement. The welfare of habituated gorilla groups used for tourism requires strict health protocols — respiratory viruses transmitted from humans can cause severe illness in gorillas whose immune systems have no prior exposure. Social group management following inter-group conflicts and silverback deaths requires monitoring and sometimes intervention to prevent group collapse. The remarkable population recovery demonstrates that intense, sustained protection can achieve genuine welfare improvement at population scale for a critically endangered species.