Post by Jeff on Jul 4, 2008 23:11:05 GMT -5
The government of Cameroon - with guidance from the Wildlife Conservation Society - has created the world's first sanctuary exclusively for the Cross River gorilla, the world's rarest kind of great ape. The Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary was officially created by decree of the Prime Minister of Cameroon Ephraim Inoni and was announced via state radio.
Classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN's Red List, the Cross River gorilla is the rarest of the four subspecies of gorilla. The entire population numbers under 300 individuals across its entire range, which consists of 11 scattered sites in Cameroon and Nigeria. The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is one of two subspecies of western gorilla, the other being Gorilla gorilla gorilla, the western lowland gorilla. The eastern gorilla includes the eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), and the famous mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains and southern Uganda (Gorilla beringei beringei).