A survey of remote forests within the Republic of the Congo has revealed new western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) populations. The survey’s estimates roughly triples the number of western lowland gorillas thought to be in existence. The researchers counted the gorilla’s sleeping nests to estimate gorilla abundance. This method is efficient, since the gorillas are shy of humans. However, nest counting may not be the best method to estimate gorilla abundance in some areas where gorillas and chimpanzees occur sympatrically.  All subspecies of gorillas remain endangered or critically endangered, because of anthropogenic activities such as the bushmeat trade in addition to the spread of Ebola – a deadly zoonotic disease.  From mlive.com:

Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they’ve discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal’s estimated population.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, based at New York’s Bronx Zoo, and the Republic of Congo said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country covering 18,000 square miles.

Previous estimates, dating to the 1980s, put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. But the animal’s numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 percent since then due to hunting and disease, researchers said. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000.

“This is a very significant discovery because of the terrible decline in population of these magnificent creatures to Ebola and bush meat,” said Emma Stokes, one of the research team.

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Western lowland gorillas are one of four gorilla subspecies, which also include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and Cross River gorillas. All are labeled either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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