GRACE Gorillas

06/08/2026

“Rather than a simple contrast between decline and recovery, the findings point to a more nuanced picture: in some areas, particularly certain community-managed forests, Grauer’s gorilla populations have remained stable, demonstrating that sustained protection can prevent further losses.”

This is why we believe in and invest in community-led conservation. The primary tropical forests throughout the Tayna-Usala landscape remain largely intact and provide critical habitat connectivity for Grauer’s gorillas, as well as many other species. Communities, who have stewarded these forests for generations, continue to lead their protection.

We are grateful for our community conservation partners in Tayna-Usala, as well as the staff and communities near GRACE, who are making a difference for critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas every day.

04/08/2026

The story continues at Mt. Tshiaberimu.

Isangi, Lulingu, Mapendo, and Ndjingala are healthy, integrated into a wild family group, and bringing new hope to one of the world’s smallest and most isolated Grauer’s gorilla populations.

This historic rewilding at Mt. Tshiaberimu is also giving conservation teams rare insight into an understudied population and reinforcing the importance of long-term, collaborative conservation for critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas.

Watch this short update, then read the full story here:
https://gracegorillas.org/2026/08/04/the-story-continues/

With gratitude to our partners Gorilla Doctors, Re:wild and Virunga National Park.

31/07/2026

Today, on , we honor the courage, knowledge, and commitment of the people protecting forests and wildlife every day.

Earlier this year, GRACE was honored to help host the 25th Annual Assembly of Réserve des Gorilles de Tayna (RGT) — a milestone gathering for one of eastern DR Congo’s earliest and most important examples of community-led conservation.

Created and stewarded by local communities, Tayna Nature Reserve is part of the larger Tayna–Usala landscape: an extraordinary expanse of intact primary forest in the heart of the Congo Basin and a critical refuge for Grauer’s gorillas, eastern chimpanzees, okapi, pangolins, and other globally threatened wildlife.

Protecting forests of this scale depends on the leadership of local communities and the dedication of community rangers — known at GRACE as Forest Guardians — who monitor wildlife, document threats, and help ensure conservation decisions are guided by a blend of traditional and scientific knowledge.

We are proud to share more about RGT’s community-led conservation model, and the partnerships helping protect Tayna’s forests for future generations, in the latest edition of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe e.V. Gorilla Journal.

Read the article here: https://www.berggorilla.org/en/journal/issues/journal-72-1/2026/article-view/community-leadership-and-conservation-science-come-together-at-taynas-25th-rgt-general-assembly/

24/07/2026

New enclosure, fresh vegetation, happy gorillas! 🦍🌿

Every six months, the GRACE team rotates the gorillas between our sanctuary forest enclosures, giving each space time to rest and regenerate.

With careful planning from our animal care, veterinary, and technical teams, the group recently changed forest enclosures and quickly got back to exploring, eating, playing, and even some tree climbing! They treated the Caregivers to a few gorilla "songs" as they discovered all the fresh greenery.

Enjoy this video of the GRACE gorillas exploring the forest. 💚

22/07/2026

Kighoma seems to have some big midweek feelings… us too, Kighoma. 😂🦍

Wishing everyone a happy !

Thanks to explore.org for the clip and remember, you can check out the GRACE gorillas anytime by visiting explore.org/gorillas!💚

15/07/2026

Shamavu takes in a rainy and gives us a glimpse of his large canine teeth. He is not quite a silverback yet, but he is getting close!

This is what GRACE is all about: giving orphaned gorillas rescued from the illegal wildlife trade the chance to grow up in a family group, surrounded by natural forest.

From tiny baby to today, swipe to see just how much Shamavu has grown!

Thanks to our friends at explore.org for capturing this moment on live cam.

15/07/2026

We are happy to see Ndjingala thriving at Mt. Tshiaberimu! We are proud to partner with Gorilla Doctors, Virunga National Park and Re:wild in the ongoing monitoring and protection of the four gorillas rewilded from GRACE. 💚🦍

Dr. Cedric checked on the health of Kipura group and observed all the critically endangered Grauer's gorillas to be visually healthy. Adult female Ndjingala, one of the four females successfully re-wilded from GRACE Gorillas, keeps quite busy - she and silverback Mwasa were observed mating for nearly 15 minutes and she also spends a lot of time with the older infant Kavango. The other three rewilded adult females are also thriving.

14/07/2026

Thank you Pairi Daiza for including us in your conservation impact. This beautiful video is inspiring and we look forward to seeing the series. We are grateful to partner with you in protecting gorillas and forests! 🦍🍃🌍

14/07/2026

Happy World Chimpanzee Day!

Today, we’re celebrating the incredible chimpanzees who share the forests of DR Congo—the only country in the world home to four types of great apes: bonobos, chimpanzees, Grauer’s gorillas, and mountain gorillas.

These beautiful images were captured by trail camera in Tayna Nature Reserve, a Key Biodiversity Area filled with rare and remarkable wildlife.

In partnership with local communities, GRACE helps safeguard more than 500,000 acres of forest for people, chimpanzees, gorillas, and countless other species. 💚

07/07/2026

Keeping gorillas safe takes a whole community. 🦍

Since Ebola was first confirmed in eastern DR Congo in May, Team GRACE has moved quickly. We have strengthened biosecurity at the sanctuary and partnered with nearby communities to reduce risk.

Because Ebola can affect both people and great apes, protecting human health is one of the most important ways we can protect critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas. As a trusted, community-based organization, GRACE is helping share prevention information families can rely on.

Read our latest blog to learn how GRACE is helping keep gorillas, staff, and communities safe: https://gracegorillas.org/2026/07/02/responding-to-ebola/

Thank you to everyone who has supported our response efforts so far. Knowing people are thinking of GRACE and helping us take action means the world.