Mountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest are habituated to human presence for ecotourism, with careful management required to balance conservation income with individual gorilla welfare.
Mountain gorilla welfare in habituated ecotourism groups requires careful management of visitor behaviour, health screening, and group size to minimise disease transmission and stress. Habituated gorillas show measurable behavioural stress responses to close human proximity, and some individuals are more tolerant than others. Disease transmission from humans — particularly respiratory viruses — has caused deaths in habituated gorilla groups. The welfare cost of ecotourism is real but justified by the conservation revenue that makes gorilla protection economically viable for local communities. Strict adherence to visitor protocols is the most direct individual welfare protection available.