--- title: Africa: New Study Reveals Higher Gorilla Population description: A new study finds there may be 361,900 gorillas in western equatorial Africa, far more than previously thought canonical: https://time.com/5255297/africa-gorilla-population-endangered-species/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-26T04:52:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:05:35.026Z article:section: Science og:title: A New Study Reveals There Are More Gorillas Than We Thought og:description: Though they remain critically endangered og:url: https://time.com/5255297/africa-gorilla-population-endangered-species/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4515aee344548c9/69892eb9db298709cc25f7dc/gettyimages-73550230.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2048 og:image:height: 1152 og:image:alt: A Silverback male mountain Gorilla sits og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A New Study Reveals There Are More Gorillas Than We Thought twitter:description: Though they remain critically endangered twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4515aee344548c9/69892eb9db298709cc25f7dc/gettyimages-73550230.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Study Reveals That There Are a Lot More Gorillas Than We Thought > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Apr 26, 2018 4:52 AM UTC  A Silverback male mountain Gorilla sits in the dense jungle canopy on the edge of Uganda's Bwindi National Park, Jan. 29, 2007. A Silverback male mountain Gorilla sits in the dense jungle canopy on the edge of Uganda's Bwindi National Park, Jan. 29, 2007. Stuart Price—AFP/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Apr 26, 2018 4:52 AM UTC There may be nearly twice as many gorillas in the world than previously thought, a new study reveals. Published in the journal _Science Advances_, the decade-long survey determined that there may be 361,900 gorillas in western equatorial Africa, higher than the [earlier estimates](http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/9404/0) of 150,000 to 250,000, the _Guardian_ reports. However, gorillas remain critically endangered as their populations continue to decline. According to the _Guardian_, the population has dropped 20% over the past eight years. Some 80% of gorilla troops are also believed to live in unprotected habitats, leaving them vulnerable to what the study describes as “guns, germs and \[felled\] trees.” “The population could be double,” said Professor Fiona Maisels of the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of 50 international experts involved in the survey, the _Guardian_ reports. “But that is not the big story. Just because there are rather a lot of them does not mean they are not very, very vulnerable.” Poaching, deforestation and outbreaks such as Ebola jeopardize the survival of gorillas, especially because they breed so slowly. It takes females 11-12 years to mature, and they only give birth every four years. “It takes a very long time to build populations back up,” Maisels said. The survey was conducted in an area of western equatorial Africa roughly the size of France, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Congo and Ubangi rivers. 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