Here’s some good news for Nigerians, in a rare sighting, conservationists from in southern Nigeria, captured new images of the world’s rarest gorillas with several babies.
The rare gorillas which have been termed ‘Cross River’ gorillas by conservationists were potted in the dense Mbe Mountains in Cross River state by a camera set up by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
According to CNN, the subspecies is critically endangered and at one point only about 300 were known to be alive within the mountainous area in Nigeria and Cameroon, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The gorillas tend to avoid humans and their few populations have been the target of hunters in the past. Images of the gorillas were also captured in 2012 in Cameroon’s Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary.
I am very happy to see these wonderful pictures of the Cross River gorillas with many babies in our forest.
Gabriel Ocha, head chief of Kanyang, one of the villages near the Mbe Mountains, said the images are proof that his community’s conservation efforts with the WCS are yielding results.
