All great ape species—gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and orangutan—are Endangered or Critically Endangered, while nearly all gibbon species are at risk of extinction. With humans and great apes sharing nearly identical genomes and evolutionary history, scientists have warned that if this planet becomes a place where non-human primates can’t survive, humans soon won’t be able to survive either.  

But we’ve seen targeted conservation efforts for the mountain gorilla in particular find success, with research demonstrating that it is the only great ape species increasing in number because the entire population lives within protected areas. However, grave threats remain for them and other great apes: disease driven by habitat fragmentation and crowding, human-animal conflict and the wildlife trade, both legal and illegal are just some of the challenges they face. The risk of zoonotic spillover due to human and great apes coming into closer contact is also increasing.  

As part of EJN’s new project, Empowering Media for the Conservation of Great Apes in Africa, we will award up to 8 story grants to journalists in African range countries seeking to report on the threats faced by great apes (in the wild and in captivity), and the conservation solutions that must be scaled to safeguard animal, human and environmental health in the years to come. This project is supported by the Arcus Foundation.  

We expect to award up to 8 grants with budgets of up to US$1,500 each. 

Deadline: Jun 4, 2025 @ 11:59 PM (Africa/Dar_es_Salaam)  /  4:59 PM ET

More information [1].