The species of great apes around the World are all threatened with extinction. The Albertine Rift region contains more apes than any other ecoregion with two species and three subspecies of ape. For two of the apes, mountain and Grauer’s gorillas, the Albertine Rift contains their world range. WCS works to conserve each of these three apes in the Albertine Rift region using a variety of approaches which include support to habitat conservation, support to antipoaching patrols, surveys of populations, research on their conservation needs, development of species action plans, and support to minimizing conflicts between apes and local people.
The three apes we conserve in the Albertine Rift are:
- Mountain gorilla – Gorilla beringei beringei
- Grauer’s gorilla - Gorilla beringei graueri
- Eastern Chimpanzee - Pan troglodytes schwinfurthii