BREAKING: Critically Endangered Gorilla Spotted Again in Cross River Forest

DDM News

A rare species of gorilla has been captured on a forest surveillance camera in a remote community in Cross River State, Nigeria, prompting renewed calls for wildlife conservation in the region.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the gorilla was sighted in a mountainous area that lies along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, a known habitat for the elusive Cross River gorilla.

This rare sighting marks one of the few documented visual confirmations of the species in recent times.

The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is the most endangered of the four gorilla sub-species in the world.

Conservation experts say the critically endangered gorilla population is limited to a small mountainous region in the headwaters of the Cross River, spanning both Nigerian and Cameroonian territories.

It is distinguished by a smaller skull and shorter limbs compared to other western gorilla species.

According to Dr. Inayom Imong, a leading wildlife conservationist and director at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Nigeria, the gorilla was captured via camera traps installed across forested zones for scientific monitoring.

Imong, who confirmed the sighting through his social media handle, stated that these gorillas are extremely rare and almost never seen by humans directly.

“Most of the evidence of their existence comes from their sleeping nests and from strategically placed camera traps,” Dr. Imong explained.

“This recent footage affirms that despite the odds, the species continues to survive in its natural habitat.”

The significance of this sighting cannot be overstated, especially considering that fewer than 300 Cross River gorillas are estimated to survive in the wild.

Their numbers have dwindled over the years due to factors such as habitat destruction, logging, encroachment for agriculture, and occasional poaching.

This is not the first time wildlife activity has been documented in Cross River communities.

A few months ago, a herd of elephants was seen in Boki Local Government Area, where they reportedly destroyed several farmlands.

Conservationists believe such sightings signal both the resilience of endangered species and the urgent need for policy action to protect Nigeria’s remaining biodiversity.

Environmental experts have called on government agencies, NGOs, and local communities to step up forest protection initiatives and establish conservation corridors that connect fragmented habitats.

These efforts, they say, are critical to preventing the extinction of the Cross River gorilla and other endangered species.

The recent sighting underscores the rich but fragile biodiversity of Cross River State, one of the most ecologically diverse regions in West Africa.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook