Mountain Gorilla pictures are a challenge to take because these huge primates are so rare and because of the habitat they live in. Mountains and forests don't lend themselves to easy photographs, that's providing you find them at all to be able to take any. It's estimated that there are less than 650 of these highly endangered animals left in the world.
Still, the rewards are high when you have been trekking through the undergrowth in Rwanda for hours and then manage to capture a photo like the one above of the mom holding her three day old son in her arms.
Not to mention the silverback who's posing as if he was born to the role. He has the responsibility of protecting the whole family so the brawn comes in handy but unfortunately it's no match for poachers with guns who are still the biggest threat to this iconic animals survival.
The money obtained from tourists who pay to spend an hour with a habituated group is probably the only thing that stands between them and oblivion as this gives them a monetary value to the Rwandan government and helps with their protection.
Another opportunity to get some of your own photographs is to travel to the western lowlands of Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.) Here there are roughly 40 000 still remaining so your chances of snapping them are a pretty good but of course, due to human intervention their numbers are also dwindling, so it's hard to say how long the opportunity to photograph them will still be available.
Learn how to improve your own safari photographs using tips found in the free Better Safari Photography eBook...
Back to Wildlife Photo Gallery