One of our closest relatives is the gentle and intelligent mountain gorilla from Central Africa. The home of these creatures is constantly the battle ground for human warfare, and refugees from these wars often need to take refuge and food and wood from the forests where gorillas live. With the world population of wild mountain gorillas numbering less than 650, scattered between a handful of isolated groups, habitat loss and islandisation are the greatest threats to the gorilla as people take more land for agriculture. One gorilla country, Rwanda, has recognised that the gorillas are the country’s best economic asset, bringing in many thousands of tourist dollars annually. Although ravaged by civil war in recent years, they are protecting gorilla populations recognising the crucial economic and biological value of theses cousins.

To find out more about gorillas see wildfacts.