Gorillas are among humans’ closest relatives, with a common ancestor dating back around 8 to 10 million years.
Both species of gorilla alive today are on the edge of extinction: The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is critically endangered.
In its latest assessment of the eastern gorilla, the IUCN found a mixed picture of gorilla conservation. Some of the gorilla populations remained stable, while others faced declines — of roughly 60% for the subspecies Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) — in the last 20 years.
“Conservation has made the difference between survival and extinction in some regions,” Jessi Junker, a researcher at Germany’s Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, said in a press release.
World Gorilla Day has been celebrated every Sept. 24 since 2017. For 2026, we bring you the highs and lows of gorilla conservation as published in Mongabay this year.
Ebola outbreak puts gorilla conservationists on high alert
The Democratic Republic of Congo declared a new Ebola outbreak in May 2026. As of Sept. 22, 7,773 confirmed human cases had been registered and 3,759 deaths.
While there haven’t been any suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in eastern gorillas, which are mostly endemic to the DRC, conservationists are on high alert, Mongabay’s Kayleigh Long reported in June.
A previous Ebola outbreak from 2002-2003, caused widespread infection among western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Republic of Congo, killing around 5,000 of the animals.
“[W]e observed that Ebola spreads rapidly within gorilla groups, likely due to the physical contacts gorillas have during nap time, play or grooming sessions.” Damien Caillaud, a behavioral ecologist who witnessed the 2000s outbreak, told Long.
When one animal is affected, he said, “Almost all the gorillas from the group disappear within a few weeks.”
Two sets of mountain gorilla twins born in the same year
Twins are rare among mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), occurring in less than 1% of births. However, park authorities of DRC’s Virunga National Park recorded births of two sets of gorilla twins in 2026, David Akana, Mongabay’s program manager for the Africa bureau, reported in March.
Jacques Katutu, the park’s head of gorilla monitoring, called the two twin births within three months “an extraordinary event”.
Women patrol the outskirts of key Cross River gorilla sanctuary
Women’s collectives in southeastern Nigeria are carrying out patrols and investigating environmental crimes plaguing communities around the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, — home to critically endangered Cross River gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti).
Women from two villages have even halted illegal timber deals, according to Francis Akie, head of the Traditional Rulers Council of Ulom, reported contributor Orji Sunday in July.
“Our men have failed to stop the threats,” Ofre Mary, founder of the Ulom Women’s Conservation Collective, told Sunday. “That’s why women decided to take a stand.”
Banner image: A western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Gabon. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
