$10m plan to save world's rarest gorilla

Five-year conservation project could revive the population of Cross River gorilla in their only remaining habitat in Africa

Adam Vaughan

theguardian.com, Friday 21 March 2014 11.29 GMT

A rare image of a Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), 

captured remotely by a camera trap in the Afi mountain

 wildlife Sanctuary in Nigeria. Photograph: /WCS

The world’s rarest gorilla, which is believed to be down to less than 300 remaining individuals, can be saved with a $10.5m action plan, conservationists say.

The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) lives in a hilly rainforest area around 12,000 sq km in size along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, regarded as a globally significant “biodiversity hotspot.” It is the rarest of four gorilla sub-species and is listed as critically endangered.

But experts at the Wildlife Conservation Society believe its population could remain stable and even increase if a new five-year plan is put into place to protect it from poachers who hunt it for bushmeat, and habitat loss as land is turned over to farming.

Read on

World's Rarest Gorilla Caught on Film

The rarest gorilla on Earth, the elusive Cross River gorilla, has been caught on film by a hidden camera trap for the first time ever.

Researchers estimate that only about 250 to 300 of the gorillas remain on the planet, and humans have rarely observed these critically-endangered primates in their natural habitat.

The two-minute footage shows eight of the gorillas making their way through a forest in Cameroon. The video offers a glimpse of classic gorilla behavior, yet also reveals the plight of the threatened apes.

"The footage provides us with our first tantalizing glimpses of Cross River gorillas behaving normally in their environment," said Christopher Jameson, director of the Takamanda Mone Landscape Project. "A person can study these animals for years and never even catch a glimpse of the gorillas, much less see anything like this."

In a movie-worthy moment (at about 1:10 in the video), a massive silverback gorilla suddenly races along the forest path, beating his chest.

Read on and see video at: http://www.livescience.com/20164-world-rarest-gorilla-caught-film.html