Yet Fossey herself, who died in 1985, would likely be surprised that any mountain gorillas are still left to study. Last fall, the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature changed the status of mountain gorillas from “critically endangered” to “endangered,” an improved, if still-fragile designation. Highly regulated tour groups hike in the Rwandan rainforest to watch gorillas. “With tourism, the tension is always not to overexploit,” said Dirck Byler, great ape conservation director at the non-profit Global Wildlife Conservation. “The wonder of the gorillas’ lives, their curiosity, their social interactions — that’s something that could be accessible to others through tourism,” Vedder said.

Source: Taipei Times October 30, 2019 16:07 UTC