IUCN Red List Update Signals Hope for Gorillas

The status of the mountain gorilla is now endangered, an upgrade from critically endangered. Other species are becoming more threatened.

Written byAshley P. Taylor
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, ANDAMANSE

A new version of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of species at risk of extinction was published this Wednesday (November 14). According to the new list, threats to the mountain gorilla have diminished, the BBC reports, though the situation for other species has moved in the opposite direction. The mountain gorilla’s status has shifted from “critically endangered” to “endangered,” and since 2008, mountain gorilla populations worldwide have risen from 600 to more than 1,000.

“In the context of crashing populations of wildlife around the world, this is a remarkable conservation success,” Tara Stoinski, president, CEO, and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Georgia, tells the Associated Press.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies species according to their extinction risks on a spectrum from “extinct” to “least concern.”

The gorilla’s ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies