The Traverse Bracelet

Per our partners at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the gorillas are tracked to ensure their ongoing protection and  to better understand their behavior, ecology, genetic diversity, and habitat requirements—all of which is essential to developing effective conservation strategies. Their holistic approach is founded on four key pillars: daily gorilla protection, scientific research, training conservationists in Africa, and helping local communities to ensure the future of gorilla conservation for generations to come. The Fossey Fund protects two of the four gorilla subspecies: the critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga mountains of Rwanda. 

Learn more about our partner’s work protecting gorillas here. 

The gorillas are not physically tagged, so tracking consists of teams of trackers following the trail of the gorilla groups they monitor until they find them each day and then they use GPS devices to gather and record information. 

Learn more about how gorillas are tracked here. 

Not at all! The gorillas have become indifferent to the presence of the trackers and to ensure their ongoing health, trackers spend just enough time with the gorillas to ensure they are all present and healthy.

The two subspecies tracked by the Fossey Fund—mountain gorillas and Grauer’s gorillas—are endangered and critically endangered, respectively. A population of just over 1,000 mountain gorillas remains, while the Grauer’s gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have about 6,800 remaining – having lost 60% of their population in recent decades.

Just like humans, every gorilla has a unique and individual personality! Young gorillas tend to be more energetic and playful, becoming more calm as they mature. Adult gorillas are gentle, curious, and quite shy—though they spend less time playing, they may still be caught goofing around on occasion.

Just like human dads, gorilla dads know how to have fun with their little ones!  They are incredibly patient, often acting as jungle gyms for infants who lay on and roll off their backs. Silverbacks (adult males) spend time caring for and socializing with older infant gorillas, even though they don’t know which baby is theirs. 

One famous example is the silverback Cantsbee, who was known to “babysit” five or six infants while their mothers were foraging. Research has also shown that blackback (immature) males who spend more time playing with infants and juveniles are more likely to sire offspring once they become silverbacks. 

Adult males can grow to about 6 feet tall when standing, and weigh up to 450 pounds!

Chest-beating is one of the most iconic sounds in the animal kingdom and can be heard over a kilometer away (just over a half mile). Gorillas will cup their hands and beat rapidly to indicate their body size and competitive ability to rival males as well as potential mates. Other times, it may be used as a playful gesture.