Rescued gorilla gives birth after return to wild
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In Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lulingu, a Grauer’s gorilla, successfully gave birth in May 2026, one year after conservationists reintroduced her to the wild.
Lulingu arrived at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) in 2016 as an 18-month-old rescued from illegal wildlife trafficking by the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation and Gorilla Doctors.
At GRACE, the 16-hectare sanctuary provided Lulingu with a space to socialize and rehabilitate alongside surrogate mothers, preparing her for life in the wild. After rehabilitation, Lulingu was released near Mount Tshiaberimu, a remote section of Virunga National Park. Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, director in the DRC for GRACE, explained the center aims to both rescue gorillas and prepare them for eventual release, and Lulingu’s successful birth indicates she adapted well to her natural environment.
The Grauer’s gorilla, also known as the eastern lowland gorilla, is native to the tropical forests of eastern DRC, but its habitat is shrinking due to armed conflict, deforestation, and mining. The species is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with the population declining by 77% between 1994 and 2015, from an estimated 16,900 individuals to 3,800.
Because of this decline, each new birth is crucial for the species’ survival, and GRACE is now considering reintroducing more gorillas to the wild.
