Real life 'Planet of the Apes' discovered
Conservationists have found what they describe as a real-life "Planet of the Apes' in the Republic of Congo.
More than 125,000 western lowland gorillas have been discovered living in a small area of the northern parts of the country ... only 50,000 were previously thought to exist worldwide.
Experts say the area 'Ntokou-Pikounda zone', should now be set up as a protected area.
The critically endangered species occur in seven Central African nations and the Wildlife Conservation Society say this find should act as a rallying cry to protect vulnerable and endangered species.
"We knew from our own observations that there were a lot of gorillas out there, but we had no idea there were so many," said Dr. Emma Stokes who worked on the project.
"We hope that the results of this survey will allow us to work with the Congolese government to establish and protect the new Ntokou-Pikounda protected area."
"These figures show that northern Republic of Congo contains the mother lode of gorillas," added Dr. Steven E. Sanderson, President of the WCS.
"It also shows that conservation in the Republic of Congo is working.
"This discovery should be a rallying cry for the world that we can protect other vulnerable and endangered species, whether they be gorillas in Africa, tigers in India, or lemurs in Madagascar."
Picture Credit: Thomas Breuer/Wildlife Conservation Society-Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
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