Currently there are less than 650 mountain gorillas left alive in the wild. About 320 live in the Virunga Volcano conservation area on the border of Rwanda, Congo, and Uganda. Another 300 live about 45 kilometers away in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Unlike lowland gorillas, mountain gorillas fare poorly in zoos. None has lived for more than a few years in captivity.
Mountain gorillas are in danger of extinction from habitat loss, poaching, and war.
Bigfoot researchers point out that the forty year search for the mountain gorilla demonstrates that a large ape can elude detection for decades, and that native tales of such creatures can sometimes be based in fact. This stamp of the mountain gorilla is one of sixteen on a souvenir sheet depicting endangered species of the world. This stamp of the mountain gorilla is one of six on a souvenir sheet depicting endangered animals of Africa. This souvenir sheet shows a group of six gorillas including characteristic silver-backed males. This souvenir sheet depicts a mountain gorilla eating a leaf on a background of a mother gorilla and her child.