Thanks to WCS’s long-term protection and monitoring of the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla, we now have first-ever images of a large group thriving with their babies, proof that these animals—once feared to be extinct in Nigeria—are reproducing and beginning to recover.

Caught by remote camera in the mountains of Nigeria, these pictures show a species rarely spotted in the wild: they're extremely wary of humans due to a long history of hunting. In their isolated habitat along the Nigeria/Cameroon border, they're believed to number only around 300 today—making these photos of multiple infants even more electrifying.

WCS has the largest ape conservation footprint of any organization, and our programs protect nearly 75 percent of the world’s remaining ape species. This work includes the long-term anti-poaching strategies that have let this vulnerable gorilla rebound: no Cross River gorillas have been recorded or reported killed in the country since 2012.