Uganda

In September/October 2011 another census will be conducted for the Bwindi gorillas. These censuses are done every 5 years. The last census in 2006 resulted in 302 recorded gorillas. During that census as well as during the new one the census team took fecal samples of each individual that were sent to Germany and analyzed genetically. This ensures that the number is not overestimated when certain gorillas are counted several times. Another important advantage is that the genetic fingerprints provide valuable information on the relationships within the population. Moreover, the census will have important side-effects for conservation: illegal activities in the park and traces of other great mammals are recorded.

Such a census with genetic analysis is a huge effort and extremely expensive. It involves many regional partners: the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, theRwanda Development Board, local governments and the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Conservation Through Public Health, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund – Internationaland the Institute for Tropical Forest Conservation. Funding support comes from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Sweden; the Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe is alsocovering part of the costs.

More information about the census in the Bwindi Researchers blog and on the ITFC website.