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World Gorilla Day2030 Countdown
Tuesday, September 24, 2030
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About World Gorilla Day
World Gorilla Day, marked every year on September 24, is a global campaign for the protection of gorillas, our largest living relatives, and the forests they call home. The date honors the legacy of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, whose founder began her pioneering mountain gorilla research on September 24, 1967, in the misty volcanoes of Rwanda.
Gorillas inspire awe for good reason. They share roughly ninety-eight percent of their DNA with humans, live in tight family groups led by silverbacks, and display gentle intelligence that has captivated researchers and visitors alike. Yet both species, the eastern and western gorilla, are critically endangered. Habitat loss, disease, illegal hunting, and civil instability have pushed wild populations toward the brink.
Conservation has proof that it works: mountain gorilla numbers have climbed enough that they were downlisted from critically endangered in 2018, one of the few great ape success stories. The day funds ranger patrols, community projects, and veterinary programs that keep that progress alive, and it reminds everyone that these animals' future still depends on sustained human effort.
History of World Gorilla Day
Dian Fossey arrived at a meadow in the Virunga Mountains on September 24, 1967, and began what became the longest-running gorilla study ever attempted. Her work at the Karisoke Research Center dismantled myths about gorillas as aggressive beasts, revealing complex family bonds and individual personalities. After her unsolved murder in 1985, the Digit Fund she created to fight poaching evolved into today's Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which rebranded the anniversary as World Gorilla Day in 2017, building on an earlier International Gorilla Day observed since around 2000. The shift gave the cause a global stage, and the date now draws participation from zoos, universities, and conservation partners across Africa, North America, and Europe.
2030 vs 2031 dates
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is World Gorilla Day?
- World Gorilla Day falls every year on September 24, the anniversary of the day Dian Fossey began her gorilla research in Rwanda in 1967.
- Is World Gorilla Day a public holiday?
- No, it is not a public holiday. It is an international conservation observance, with schools, offices, and businesses operating normally while zoos and wildlife organizations host events.
- How do people celebrate World Gorilla Day?
- People celebrate by adopting gorillas symbolically, donating to conservation funds, attending zoo events, recycling electronics to reduce habitat mining, and sharing gorilla facts online.
- How many gorillas are left in the wild?
- Estimates suggest around a thousand mountain gorillas and a few thousand eastern and western lowland gorillas. All are endangered, though mountain gorilla numbers have been slowly increasing.