Below this article is a letter from one of the study’s authors.
POACHING is the biggest killer of mountain gorillas, but respiratory diseases come a close second, accounting for about a quarter of deaths, according to a major survey.
Around 700 mountain gorillas live in two separate populations, one in Uganda and the other in a region that straddles Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The animals are classed as critically endangered on the IUCN’s red list, although they are the only great ape species whose numbers are increasing.
The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, based in…
