The down-listing of the mountain gorilla from critically endangered to endangered confirms the effectiveness of our daily protection efforts, but I want to be clear: mountain gorillas remain a conservation-dependent species.
They MUST be continually protected if they are to survive, as any one of the many threats they face could change their status instantly.
And while the news may be positive for mountain gorillas, it is important to remember that the status of all other gorilla populations remains at critically endangered, due to steady ongoing declines.
If you read my email yesterday about the massacre of Group 4 in 1978, then you know how remarkable it is that mountain gorillas even exist today.
Dian Fossey’s favorite gorilla, Digit – one of Group 4’s young silver backs – was brutally murdered by poachers forty years ago while fiercely defending his family. Dian wrote in Gorillas in the Mist that,
“Digit’s last battle had been a lonely and courageous one. I have tried not to allow myself to think of Digit’s anguish, pain, and the total comprehension he must have suffered in knowing what humans were doing to him.”
My heart breaks every time I read those words. And while it’s true that we humans have done more than our fair share of damage to these magnificent creatures and their habitat, the fact also remains that they exist today because a human – one courageous woman – gave her life to save them.
The current environmental crisis – including ongoing threats to gorillas – is real. But so is our collective ability to solve it.
That’s why I hope you’ll choose to celebrate our successes, while honoring the lives we’ve lost along the way, by making a gift of today $10, $25, $50, or even $100. Your ongoing support ensures wild gorillas remain protected every single day, no matter what.
Together we have accomplished more than we could ever do alone, and with continued support from caring conservationists like you, we’ll keep working every day to enable a bright future for gorillas, their habitat, and for all life on Earth.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for these amazing creatures. Read More
Gratefully,

President and CEO/Chief Scientific Officer |