A boom in the population of Ugandan mountain gorillas gives park managers and wildlife lovers a lot to smile about, just two years after being taken off the 'critically endangered' list.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority has reported the birth of seven baby gorillas this year – a number almost four times greater than the largest annual record.
The latest arrival was born to last Monday to 16-year-old mountain gorilla Ndikahe, in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi has the most fertile troupes of gorillas in the country's two parks housing the animals, with five new additions this year.
![Ruterana with her newborn in the Bwindi National Park. Photo / Supplied, UWA](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/OHJCRCNJPQ2NLK5PMASD4ZOAAY.jpg?auth=a50aea2f4ac5f99f63e596ea94c00f81253c5cf42ffc29882fb18a3b1a23b6f3&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
The other is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which adjoins the larger cross-border Virunga conservation area - shared between Uganda the DRC and Rwanda. The conservation area was the focus of a 2014 Oscar-nominated documentary, that told the story of how the area and its gorillas survived invasion by oil prospectors and a violent civil war.