Good news on Congo gorillas
 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa...las/index.html

Check it out! 125,000 Western lowland gorillas found living in a swamp in northern Congo.

My eyes are playing tricks on me *rub* *rub* the article is still there…am speechless!

Coming back in an hour or so to re-check, I think this is some type of fancy CGI illusion.

Wonderful news!!! shh - don't tell the poachers!

It is tragic that good news like this is so surprising...

Wow! How nice to see some fabulously good news when usually there is so much bad news

Maps:

http://maps.geog.umd.edu/carpe/Produ...v11_100dpi.jpg

http://carpe.umd.edu/where-carpe-wor...et_language=fr

http://www.western-gorilla.org/

I suppose the world will now care about the Congo…

I see the world *rushing in* on so many levels. I wonder if there is any chance for this to become an Ideal Human & Wildlife Model. We will see if we have learned to create a win-win relationship for the area Congolese or if history repeats itself once again. Just follow the money and we shall see…

[-o< Den

Thanks for posting, that is a wonderfully significant finding. Due to the nature of their habitat it would not be surprising if there were other hugely remote, inaccessible areas that contain sizeable unknown populations. This along with the finding (last year?) of the enormous ungulate migration in Southern Sudan gives hope that there are important reservoirs of wildlife that remain undiscovered.

It's interesting that with a population that now must be estimated around 180,000 that the w. lowland gorilla will likely remain Critically Endangered. Not saying it shouldn't but African wild dog with less than 5,500 individuals is considered Endangered (no critically), and with lion populations plummeting and estimated to be anywhere from 16,000 to 30,000 individuals they are merely considered Vulnerable.

The DRC has the most significant diversity of wildlife on the entire continent. I hope it can be conserved.

I see now this is Republic of Congo and not the DRC. That's probably better news for the gorillas although the DRC still has the motherlode of many species.

I woke up to this story on the radio ths morning. Best news I've heard in a long time! Thanks for posting.

Ahhh I see...

A few quick links with visuals on the locations PB mentioned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democra...c_of_the_Congo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabon

I will be very excited to read the reports of the few folks on the forum who plan on going to Gabon and if they were able to observe the gorilla’s there as well.
http://www.zsl.org/field-conservatio...on,367,AR.html

I knew my fellow Fodorites would share in my excitement of this wonderful find!

I think I saw a TV program, yes TV show, about these gorillas about 6 months ago. I don't recall the name of the show nor the TV channel. But it wasn't a news blurb, a 30 minute or whatever program.

regards - tom

absolutely WONDERFUL!

div

Hi Tom: If you happen to recall any information on this TV show please post it as I would enjoy seeing this and will try and hunt it down.

I saw the NatGeo [I believe] show on Gabon and was intrigued how the gorillas behave differently and walked around upright quite a bit! I threw the Gabon link up there as I was hoping PB was going to pipe back in [and I guess read my mind] or any one else who knows as I am curious if the Republic of Congo and the Gabon gorillas share similarities and imaginary borders like the gorillas in the Virunga Mountains.

As far as Gabon another thing I found that played with my senses a bit was that the elephants splash about in the ocean! This reminds me I once thought I read there were elephants that did this in Tanzania as well and keep forgetting to look into it!

Den

Is this a joke? Is it real? How amazing.

Den, I thought it was the hippos that surfed ocean waves in Gabon...? Or is it both?

Seriously they were hippos Leely? I know the show aired recently but I missed this one and saw it a long time ago. If it is true that it was hippos and not elephants I am more out of control than I thought! No offence but I hope you are wrong and I am not crazy.

I recall following the elephants [which were on the smallish side] on their circuit, which I think included going out of Gabon for a time, returning, and finally reaching the ocean after quite a journey. I can clearly see the elephants splashing about in the ocean in my mind! I suppose the good thing is, even if I created this vision -- it still pleases me!

Hmmm…I think hippos are coming into focus. I am trying to keep them back but maybe I mixed this up with the thought about the TZ ellies. I wonder now if I saw any elephants in the show?

Den, I hope I am right and <b>you</b> are wrong. :D

In fact I hope it is hippos and eles and lowland gorillas riding the waves as well. Now there's a wonderful image for you! Edenic/Gilligan Islandic.

Oops, Dr.Gough's post has ignited my imagination. The important thing: gorillas!

Leely you are right and Den, you are not crazy on this either.

Gabon is where hippos sometimes surf in the waves. The forest elephants and buffaloes do come to the beach during a certain season, so while the elephants don't surf the do walk the beach and quite possible Den that you saw film of one walking where the water laps the beach.

The western lowland gorilla that is in Rep. of Congo is the same species that is in Gabon too. The only habituated group of w. lowland gorillas is on the border of the Central African Republic and Republic of Congo. The ones in Gabon are not habituated at this time.

Michael Nichols who travelled with Mike Fay on their 15 month expedition through the rainforest to the coast of Gabon reported that ut was a rare ocassion when the hippo were seen in the ocean. I believe that it took him a few months to photograph this phenomenon.

Also, there is a place in Kenya called the Tana River Delta, where elephant move to the ocean, perhaps not surfing but none-the-less associated with the coast.