Kampala- Governmental support for conservation programs and improved security in Africa's Great Lakes Region have led to an increase in the number of mountain gorillas by five per-cent in the past seven years, ecologists said on Saturday.

There are now 780 endangered gorillas dwelling in the thick bamboo forests blanketing a mountainous enclave shared among the three states of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"The numbers of the mountain gorillas have been rising. In the whole ecosystem, there are now 780 gorillas. This has been an increase by five per-cent over the past seven years," John Makombo, the acting director of operations at the government-run Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Uganda alone has 370 of the rare primates in its two protected areas, up from 360 seven years ago, UWA statistics show.

"Strong conservation strategies have been employed including sensitising the communities around the gorilla areas who used to harass them and regarded them as beasts. The communities have been wooed into conserving the gorillas by being offered some benefits accrued from tourism," Makombo said.

During the late 1990s and the early years of this decade, the mountain gorillas were forced to abandon their forest dwellings that extend into the east of the former Zaire at the time when a devastating war engulfed that country.

"There used to be permanent insecurity and encroachment on the Congo side but now, the ecosystem in the DRC has been rejuvenated. Regional stability has contributed a part," Makombo said.

UWA officials say that due to relative stability in Congo, gorilla families have been migrating between Uganda, Rwanda and Congo during the past few years.

The gigantic primates have been in the past a target of poachers and farmers who were eager to till their forest homes, but conservation officials say that stronger government interest in conservation has reversed the trend.

"Efforts by regional governments in conservation have been stepped up. Governments are now more interested in conserving the mountain gorillas and this has also increased their survival and numbers," Makombo said. (dpa)