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Field note

Gorilla in 1967: Karisoke

[446] [read-gorilla-14-46] In 1967, the field log for Gorilla is headed “Karisoke.” The figure kept beside that heading is 1972. It is a count or a date from the work, not a rank of the species’ worth. A zoo birthday card does not replace the log. Speed 30/100 relative to the 24-type atlas -- not a a league of types.

Francine Patterson project treated signs as words. Linguists remain split. The atlas files Koko as culture and a research programme, not as proof that wild western gorillas recite English. Why the lowest resilience in the 24? CR western gorillas plus Ebola, logging and hunt. Mountain gorilla rebound is real and is a different species card.

A forest clearing in Nouabale-Ndoki where western gorillas come for minerals -- a platform study that rarely makes a biopic. Did Gorillas in the Mist help the type? The 1988 film helped mountain gorilla tourism and the Fossey myth. Western lowland numbers kept falling on a different map.

Western lowland gorillas are the usual zoo gorilla. Captive groups do not replace Gabon and Congo forests. A mountain gorilla poached in 1977. Fossey used the death to fund anti-poaching -- a mountain, not western, story that still titles books. Gorilla is one of 24 types in this animals atlas. The pages treat it as a full system -- history, anatomy, operating principles, culture, icons, future pressure and market shape -- not a ranking of a best species.

Keep 1967, “Karisoke,” and 1972 together or the note on Gorilla stops being that year’s record.1967

Figures to keep

Year of the note
1967
Figure to keep
1972
Species
Gorilla
Line in the log
Karisoke

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