No, mountain gorillas are not only in Uganda. They live in two separate areas: the Virunga volcanoes, shared by Uganda (Mgahinga Gorilla National Park), Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park) and Congo (Virunga National Park), and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, with the neighbouring Sarambwe reserve in Congo. The latest complete counts found 604 in the Virungas and 459 in Bwindi and Sarambwe, at least 1,063 in total, so Uganda is home to nearly half of the world’s mountain gorillas. They live nowhere else in the wild, and there are none in zoos.
The two populations
The Virunga population ranges across the slopes of a chain of extinct and dormant volcanoes on the borders of the three countries, at roughly 2,300–4,000 m, in bamboo, montane forest and Hagenia woodland. Bwindi lies about 25–30 km to the north, a lower, steeper and more varied rainforest, mostly between about 1,160 and 2,600 m.
The two populations have been separated for a long time by farmland and do not mix, and Bwindi’s gorillas eat more fruit and travel further each day than those in the Virungas. See our guide to how far gorillas travel in a day.
Where you can see them
Uganda: Bwindi, with more than 20 habituated families across four sectors, and Mgahinga, with one family; permits cost US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. Rwanda: Volcanoes National Park, with permits at US$1,500. Congo: Virunga National Park has habituated families, but visits depend on the security situation in eastern Congo, which has often prevented tourism. See our comparison of Uganda and Rwanda.
Mountain gorillas and other gorillas
Mountain gorillas are one of two subspecies of the eastern gorilla; the other is the Grauer’s or eastern lowland gorilla of eastern Congo. Western gorillas, including the western lowland gorilla found across Central Africa and kept in zoos, and the rare Cross River gorilla on the Nigeria–Cameroon border, are a separate species. Mountain gorillas have longer, thicker fur suited to cold, high forests. Read about the four kinds of gorilla.
A conservation success
In the early 1980s, only about 250 mountain gorillas remained in the Virungas. Decades of protection, veterinary care, cooperation between the three countries and carefully managed tourism have reversed the decline, and in 2018 the IUCN moved the subspecies from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The small, isolated populations remain vulnerable to disease, poaching snares, conflict and climate change. See our guide to how tourism helped save mountain gorillas.
Frequently asked questions
Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nearly half of the total: Bwindi and Sarambwe hold 459, and some Virunga gorillas live in Mgahinga.
No. Mountain gorillas live only in the wild; zoo gorillas are western lowland gorillas.
Yes. They are listed as Endangered, upgraded from Critically Endangered in 2018.
