KAMPALA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's mountain gorilla population is growing amid ongoing conservation efforts, although the endangered species continues to face threats from human diseases, insecurity and climate change, a Ugandan wildlife official has said.
Joward Baluku, principal wildlife officer at Uganda's Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, told Xinhua on Wednesday that preliminary findings from a recently concluded gorilla census indicate an increase in the population.
"The research team has been doing analysis of the samples that were collected, and we are waiting to get the results from the census, but the preliminary data shows that the population has grown," Baluku said.
A bit more than half of the world's mountain gorilla population live in the Virunga Mountains, a range of extinct volcanoes that border the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, with the remainder found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The 2015 Virunga census and the 2018 Bwindi census put the global mountain gorilla population at 1,063.
Baluku attributed the population increase to conservation measures, including efforts to engage communities living near gorilla habitats and encourage them to view the animals as a source of livelihood.
He said communities receive a share of tourism revenue generated from gorilla trekking, which enables them to invest in livelihood projects, helping reduce perceptions of gorillas as a threat.
Despite the population increase, mountain gorillas remain endangered. Their status was downgraded from critically endangered to endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List in 2018 following an increase in their population.
Baluku said disease transmission from humans is among the biggest threats facing the gorillas, as the animals can contract illnesses from people who come into close contact with them. Insecurity and civil unrest also pose risks, particularly in eastern DRC, where some gorilla habitats are located.
Climate change is another concern, he said, noting that changes in vegetation could affect the animals' food supply, as more than 90 percent of their diet consists of vegetation.
Uganda's tourism ministry said gorilla trekking accounts for a significant share of the country's tourism revenue and that gorillas are among the country's leading tourist attractions. ■