RICHARD FREEMAN: RAREST GORILLAS FILMED FOR THE FIRST TIME

The rarest sub-species of gorilla, the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) has been filmed for the first time ever by a German film company. NDR Naturfilm filmed two animals in a stand of trees at the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary in the Cameroons after weeks of searching. Less than 300 cross river gorillas are thought to exist in 11 locations in the Cameroons and Nigeria.
The Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary is a small reserve; only 19.5 square kilometres in size. Nevertheless, it contains a genetically important segment of the entire Cross River gorilla population; it is estimated that the sanctuary currently contains approximately 16 individual animals. While many populations of gorillas are threatened by poachers, the gorillas of Kagwene have been protected by the local belief that the apes are people, and therefore cannot be hunted or consumed.

“These gorillas are extremely wary of humans and are very difficult to photograph or film," said Dr. Roger Fotso, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Cameroon Program. "Eventually, we identified and staked out some of the gorillas’ favourite fig trees, which is where we finally achieved our goal."

"It's unbelievable that one great ape subspecies has never been filmed for TV so far," said Jörn Röver, Head of NDR Naturfilm. "We hope that our international production helps to raise awareness for these magnificent creatures and the work of the WCS."

"These extraordinary images are vital for the fight to save the world's least known and rarest ape as well as the mountain rainforest on which they depend," said Dr. James Deutsch, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Africa Program. "Over the past twenty years, local communities, the governments of Cameroon and Nigeria, funders, and committed conservationists have laid the foundation for a great conservation success story. We hope these pictures will introduce to the world the lead players in this story, the Cross River gorillas themselves."

It is indeed wonderful that the Cross River gorilla has been caught on film, but as every cryptozoologist worth their salt will tell you, a number of apes have never yet been filmed. I give you yeti, sasquatch, yeren and orang-pendek just for starters.