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They are sometimes targeted by local poachers or militia members who set out snares to trap them for their meat. Other times, the villagers lose patience when their crops are stolen and attack the gorillas. That happened to the surviving members of Senkwekwe’s family group in 2013, when they raided a field of maize. One of the younger go- rillas could not run fast enough and was killed by an angry villager with a machete. Unlike many of the primates in the wild, however, the mountain gorillas of Virunga are lucky to live in a protect- ed habitat that draws tourists from around the globe, who come specifically to see them. Wildlife tourism brings more than $1.5 million a year to the country. Some of that helps support conservation efforts. People who work at Virunga or who have visited say that seeing a mountain gorilla fami- ly up close is a life-changing experience. (Tourists wear sur- gical masks and take other careful precautions so that they don’t make the animals ill or disturb them in any way.) Why It Matters T here are many reasons why primate conservation is important. As we know from Virunga, wildlife tourism can boost a country’s economy and attract much-needed

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