Gorillas in the Midst (of a Comeback)

According to the latest census, the number of mountain gorillas living in the Volcanoes National Park in central Africa—the same ones from Gorillas in the Mist—is up by 26.3 percent since 2003, and the population is growing at a rate of 3.7 percent a year.

Martha Robbins, the primatologist who led the study, called it a "spectacular upsurge." Credit for the gorillas' revival is being attributed to the International Gorilla Conservation Program, which in 2003 began helping local communities develop economically so they wouldn't rely on poaching. The movie probably helped generate interest as well.

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According to Robbins, this shows that "with enough effort it is possible to bring a population back from precariously small numbers." That's good news, and not just for gorillas: There are 1,939 other species considered "critically endangered."

Photo (cc) by Flickr user d_proffer