QUESTION: How many Grauer’s gorillas are left in the wild?

ANSWER: 6,800

Did you guess right?

Just 6,800 Grauer’s gorillas are left in the wild.

That means 60% have been lost in 25 years.

They are almost out of time – we must act right now to ensure we don’t lose these incredible creatures forever.

Please help urgently equip our community rangers and protect the last surviving Grauer’s gorillas.

Their population has plunged 60% in just 25 years. Over half the population lives outside the national park. The only thing standing in between the remaining 6,800 wild gorillas and the whole host of dangers on their doorstep is the extraordinary community rangers.

That’s why we’re asking for your donations today – following recent legislative changes, we have the chance to formally protect areas, like Kanyama, that fall outside of the national parks. This will allow us to scale up our protective forces like never before if we can get the funding in place. And – thanks to one of our magnificent donors – there really is no better time to donate; their generous offer has put FFI in a position to not just match whatever amount you give, but to increase it by 400%.

This means every euro you gift will enable us to spend €5 on protecting Grauer’s gorillas. Your donation will help to buy boots, raincoats and protective equipment for community rangers to carry out essential patrols in Kanyama. It will help to train members of the local community to become new rangers and provide equipment to properly map out the area. It will also help buy camera traps to monitor the animals themselves, giving them the best possible chance of survival. So please, donate today and help save this iconic species, before we lose them forever.

Most of us will feel some kind of kinship towards gorillas. It’s unsurprising – these mighty creatures share 98% of our DNA, second only to chimps in regards to evolutionary similarities. We all have evolved from a common ancestor over the last 60 million years.

Like us, they are highly sociable – known to have individual personalities, rich social lives and complex family dynamics. But these compelling creatures are in grave danger.

Following years of conflict, hunting and habitat loss, Grauer’s gorillas – found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – are on the verge of extinction. These magnificent apes are being hunted for bushmeat – sometimes with shocking brutality – even as they attempt to navigate the relentless conflict that surrounds them, and the dangerous new world that they have been thrust into.

All the while, human activities are contributing to almost half a million hectares of forest loss in DRC each year. This rapid habitat loss is ripping the land apart, leaving it unfit for most living beings, including gorillas, to stand any chance of a peaceful survival.

Urgent action is needed to stop the decline in Grauer’s gorillas before it is too late. Credit: Lindsey/Adobe Stock

Sir David Attenborough (FFI vice-president) is well-known for his interactions with gorillas. In 1978, he visited mountain gorillas in Rwanda and returned shocked by what he had witnessed: a fractured, declining population.

“I began urgent discussions with FFI about what they could do to save them – they launched an emergency appeal and spearheaded a conservation programme that has been instrumental in reversing their decline.” The mountain gorilla is now off the critical list, with numbers having increased more than fourfold.

But for Grauer’s gorillas there is no such happy ending. Their situation is becoming more and more desperate by the second. So today, Sir David is renewing his call – he needs your help to save them. 

So how can we help? The answer is community rangers. These phenomenal, hardworking humans are our best chance to save Grauer’s gorillas. FFI have been working in the DRC for the last decade, mobilising local communities to become effective wildlife rangers, and we can confidently say that things would be in a much, much worse state without them.

Community rangers patrolling in the rainforest in the DRC. Credit: Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora International

These extraordinary teams of community rangers trek through the dense Congo jungle for 6 hours a day, carrying bundles of equipment, rations and water, all so that they can be there to protect the gorillas should a threat arise. This strenuous walking – often in sweltering temperatures and heavy monsoon rains – takes its toll; rangers’ boots usually need replacing once every 6 months.

On top of all this, they are working and living in an area that has been plagued by instability for many decades, persisting with their operations even as the turmoil and unrest continues around them. Their skills, knowledge and passion are unparalleled when it comes to community-led conservation in the DRC, but this painstaking, strenuous – and sometimes dangerous – work must not be underestimated. The least we can do is make sure that the community rangers have all the equipment they need to do their job.

• €14 would be multiplied to around €69, enough to help pay for refresher training for one community ranger, keeping them safe in the field
• €22 would be multiplied to around €112, enough to help pay for motorbike fuel and maintenance, allowing community rangers to rapidly reach areas where gorillas are at risk
• €24 would be multiplied to €120, enough to help pay for equipment for one community ranger (including waterproof, boots, backpack and torch)
• €55 would be multiplied to around €277, enough to help pay for a GPS unit
• €123 would be multiplied to around €616, enough to help pay for rations and living costs for a team of community rangers for a month
• €370 would be multiplied to around €1,848, enough to help pay for crucial surveys of the gorillas’ habitat
• €924 would be multiplied to €4,620, enough to help pay for a community awareness training session to help with understanding of the new legislative changes

Most of the gorillas’ vital habitat in the DRC has never been formally protected, but now, that’s about to change. Following recent changes to legislation, FFI has a extraordinary opportunity to scale up our protection in Kanyama – an essential stride towards helping save Grauer’s gorillas.

Grauer’s gorillas are at enormous risk when they enter the area of Kanyama – so FFI want to set up patrols there to protect them.

And – thanks to one incredibly generous donor – every euro you donate will be worth so much more to these gorillas: 5 times more, to be exact.  That means €24 would be worth an incredible €120, enough to help provide one community ranger with protective equipment.

These community rangers are phenomenal at what they do. Now – with your help – we can make sure that these fantastic teams have the essential equipment and training they need to do their jobs, ultimately helping us to save this remarkable species. We’ve already proved we can make real change with mountain gorillas, now it’s time to do the same for Grauer’s gorillas. So please – donate today and help save these great apes. 

This project is made possible due to support from The Rainforest Trust – we would like to thank them for their generosity. 

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is the world’s oldest conservation charity. Over the last 100 years, we have literally saved species from extinction and even – with the help of our vice-president, Sir David Attenborough – helped bring mountain gorillas back from the brink. We work to protect plants and animals around the globe, and spend 94% of our income on charitable activities.

That’s why we’re sure that – with your help – we still have time to save Grauer’s gorillas.

Thank you.

If we raise more than £88,963 from this appeal, then additional funds will be used to support our other work in the DRC and around the world. Only donations up to £88,963 will be eligible for match funding. If we’re unsuccessful in raising the full £88,963, then any funds we do receive will still be restricted to this project and receive multiplied funding.