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A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 30 OctOber 2019
How do you save endangered gorillas? With lots of human help

By CHRISTINA LARSON da, so far they're careful,
AP Science Writer and it's working."
KINIGI, Rwanda (AP) — The idea of using tourism
Deep in the rainforest of to help fund conservation
Volcanoes National Park, was contentious when con-
a 23-year-old female go- servationists Bill Weber and
rilla named Kurudi feeds on Amy Vedder first proposed
a stand of wild celery. She it while living in Rwanda
bends the green stalks and, during the 1970s and '80s.
with long careful fingers, Fossey herself was skepti-
peels off the exterior skin cal, but the pair persisted.
to expose the succulent in- "The wonder of the gorillas'
side. lives, their curiosity, their so-
Biologist Jean Paul Hirwa cial interactions — we felt
notes her meal on his tab- that's something that could
let computer as he peers be accessible to others,
out from behind a nearby through careful tourism,"
stand of stinging nettles. Vedder says.
The large adult male sit- Figuring out the balance of
ting next to her, known as how many people could
a silverback, looks at him visit the forest, and for how
quizzically. Hirwa makes a long, was a delicate pro-
low hum — "ahh-mmm" — cess of trial and error, We-
imitating the gorillas' usual ber says.
sound of reassurance. In 2005, the Rwandan gov-
"I'm here," Hirwa is trying to ernment adopted a mod-
say. "It's OK. No reason to el to steer 5% of tourism
worry." revenue from Volcanoes
Hirwa and the two great In this Sept. 2, 2019 photo, a silverback mountain gorilla named Segasira walks in the Volcanoes National Park to build in-
apes are all part of the National Park, Rwanda. frastructure in surrounding
world's longest-running Associated Press villages, including schools
gorilla study — a project and health clinics. Two
begun in 1967 by famed without an intervention tain gorillas is still vulnera- veterinarian at Gorilla Doc- years ago, the share was
American primatologist some biologists call "ex- ble," says George Schaller, tors. When his team goes raised to 10%.
Dian Fossey. treme conservation," which a renowned biologist and into the field to address a To date, about $2 million
Yet Fossey herself, who has entailed monitoring gorilla expert. "But their gorilla emergency, they has gone into funding vil-
died in 1985, would likely every single gorilla in the numbers are now growing, must carry everything they lage projects, chief park
be surprised any mountain rainforest, periodically giv- and that's remarkable." might need in equipment warden Prosper Uwingeli
gorillas are still left to study. ing them veterinary care Once depicted in legends bags weighing up to 100 says.
Alarmed by rising rates of and funding forest protec- and films like "King Kong" pounds — including porta- "We don't want to protect
poaching and deforesta- tion by sending money into as fearsome beasts, goril- ble X-ray machines. the park with guns. We
tion in central Africa, she communities that might las are actually languid pri- Schaller conducted the first want to protect and con-
predicted the species otherwise resent not being mates that eat only plants detailed studies of moun- serve this park with people
could go extinct by 2000. able to convert the woods and insects, and live in fair- tain gorillas in the 1950s who understand why, and
Instead, a concerted and into cropland. ly stable, extended family and early '60s. He also was who take responsibility," he
sustained conservation Instead of disappearing, groups. Their strength and the first to discover that wild says.
campaign has averted the number of mountain chest-thumping displays gorillas could, over time, The money from tourism
the worst and given a gorillas — a subspecies of are generally reserved for become comfortable with helps, but the region is still
second chance to these eastern gorillas — has risen contests between male ri- periodic human presence, poor.
great apes, which share from 680 a decade ago to vals. a boon to researchers and, Jean Claude Masenge-
about 98% of human DNA. just over 1,000 today. Their Every week, scientists like later, tourists. sho lives with his parents
Last fall, the Switzerland- population is split between Hirwa, who works for the Today, highly regulated and helps them farm pota-
based International Union two regions, including mist- nonprofit conservation tour groups hike in the toes. About once a week,
for Conservation of Na- covered defunct volca- group the Dian Fossey Go- Rwandan rainforest to the 21-year-old earns a
ture changed the status of noes within Congo, Ugan- rilla Fund, gather data as watch gorillas. little extra money help-
mountain gorillas from "criti- da and Rwanda — one of part of long-term behav- Ticket revenue pays for op- ing tourists carry their bags
cally endangered" to "en- Africa's smallest and most ioral research. erating costs and outstrips up the mountain, totaling
dangered," an improved if densely populated coun- If they see any health prob- what might have been about $45 a month. He
still-fragile designation. tries. lems in the gorillas, they made from converting the would someday like to be-
It wouldn't have happened "The population of moun- inform the staff at Gorillas rainforest to potato farms come a tour guide, which
Doctors, a nongovernmen- and cattle pastures. About could earn him about $320
tal group whose veterinar- 40% of the forest already monthly.
ians work in the forest. The was cleared for agriculture The obstacle is that most
vets monitor wounds and in the early 1970s. tour guides have attended
signs of respiratory infec- "With tourism, the tension is college, and Masengesho
tions, but intervene only always not to overexploit," isn't sure how his family can
sparingly. says Dirck Byler, great ape afford tuition.
When they do, they almost conservation director at "It's my dream, but it's very
never remove the animals the nonprofit Global Wild- hard," he says. "In this vil-
from the mountain. life Conservation, which is lage, every young person's
"Our hospital is the forest," not involved in the Rwanda dream is to work in the
says Jean Bosco Noheli, a gorilla project. "But in Rwan- park."q