Lulingu arrived at the GRACE gorilla sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an 18-month-old orphan. She grew up there among other rescued gorillas, and in 2024 she was among a group released into Virunga National Park. This year, Positive News reports, she gave birth in the wild.
The infant was born in May, and conservationists say it is the first time an eastern lowland gorilla returned to the wild in this way has gone on to have a baby there. That matters, because the whole point of a reintroduction is that the animals do not simply survive but settle, join family groups and breed.
Eastern lowland gorillas, also called Grauer’s gorillas, are the largest primates on Earth and are found only in eastern Congo. They are critically endangered, with about 3,800 counted in the last major survey. Each birth counts, and this one shows that gorillas raised in human care can go on to help rebuild wild populations.
Source: Positive News