DFGFI's trackers and anti-poaching patrols monitor sectors of Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans every day, to protect and monitor several groups of mountain gorillas. Since the work began with Dr. Dian Fossey in 1967, we have acquired an unparalleled amount of field expertise and data about mountain gorillas and their habitat, as well as the biodiversity of the region. We conduct and participate in numerous scientific studies using these data, to answer critical questions relevant to both basic scientific knowledge about the gorillas and to practical issues regarding their survival. Some of our current research partners include the National University of Rwanda, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Zoo Atlanta, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and many more.
Daily protection of the Virunga mountain gorillas in Rwanda has been our major conservation focus since Dr. Dian Fossey founded the Karisoke Research Center in 1967. Our efforts have proved highly successful and have resulted in a significant increase in the mountain gorilla population in this region. For details on our mountain gorilla protection activities, click here to go to the Karisoke Research Center section.
While DFGFI staff are in the field every day protecting the mountain gorillas, we are also monitoring their status and collecting and recording information about them, which we compile into our long-term database. This database now constitutes one of the largest of its kind in the world and is enormously useful in helping us study and understand the gorillas' lives and conservation status.
