Pictures: Intense monitoring and care lift African mountain gorilla numbers

Gorilla trackers Emmanuel Bizagwira, right, and Safari Gabriel observe two gorillas from the Agasha group as they play in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

A silverback mountain gorilla named Segasira walks in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. A concerted and sustained conservation campaign has averted the worst and given a second chance to these great apes, which share about 98% of human DNA.

Urwibutso, Segasira and Pato, three silverback mountain gorillas eat plants in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Gorillas are languid primates that eat only plants and insects, and live in fairly stable, extended family groups.

Biologist Jean Paul Hirwa walks down a trail to observe mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Hirwa is part of the world’s longest-running gorilla study - a project begun in 1967 by famed American primatologist Dian Fossey.

A silverback mountain gorilla named Segasira looks up as he lies under a tree in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. The late American primatologist Dian Fossey, who began the world’s longest-running gorilla study in 1967, would likely be surprised any mountain gorillas are left to study. Alarmed by rising rates of poaching and deforestation in central Africa, she predicted the species could go extinct by 2000.

A silverback mountain gorilla named Segasira sits among plants in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Instead of disappearing, the number of mountain gorillas - a subspecies of eastern gorillas - has risen from 680 a decade ago to just over 1,000 today.

Gorilla tracker Gabliel Safari talks on the radio as he monitors gorillas from the Agasha group in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Each morning, Gabriel’s job is to locate the whereabouts of the 24-member gorilla family, then alert the park warden.

A silverback mountain gorilla named Segasira lies under a tree in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Once depicted in legends and films like “King Kong” as fearsome beasts, gorillas are actually languid primates that eat only plants and insects, and live in fairly stable, extended family groups.

Jean Claude Masengesho draws a silverback gorilla in Kinigi, Rwanda. He would like to someday become a tour guide, which would earn him about $320 monthly. The obstacle is that most tour guides have attended college, and the 21-year old isn’t sure how his family can afford tuition. “It’s my dream, but it’s very hard,” he says. “In this village, every young person’s dream is to work in the park.”

A silverback mountain gorilla named Pato sits in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. “The population of mountain gorillas is still vulnerable,” says George Schaller, a renowned biologist and gorilla expert. “But their numbers are now growing, and that’s remarkable.”

Gorilla tracker Fidele searches for gorillas from the Titus group in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. The trackers are the backbone of the entire conservation project. Their work enables the scientists, tour guides and veterinarians to find gorillas quickly and do their jobs.