Scientists find lots of gorillas in census, also see decline

WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers say there are far more western Africa gorillas than conservationists previously thought.

But maybe not for long: The same study found a 19 percent plunge in that gorilla population in eight years.

Researchers spent a decade trudging through an area of forest looking for lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. What scientists call the most accurate census of apes found nearly 362,000 gorillas in 2013. They also counted 129,000 chimps.

That's more than extinction-monitoring groups had figured for both primates. But the same study shows gorillas dropped from almost 450,000 in 2005, and scientists are worried that at that rate they can disappear.

Wednesday's study is in the journal Science Advances.

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