Mountain gorilla ecotourism in Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC funds conservation while raising important welfare questions about habituation, disease risk, and tourist pressure.
Mountain gorilla ecotourism presents a genuine welfare tension. Habituation to humans reduces gorillas' natural fear responses, making them vulnerable to human disease transmission. The 7-metre minimum distance rule is often violated. Tourist proximity causes stress behaviours in some gorilla groups. However, ecotourism revenue has undeniably supported the population recovery from 620 in 2008 to over 1,000 today. The welfare cost of limited tourist exposure may be justified by the conservation benefit, provided disease protocols are strictly enforced and group exposure is carefully managed.