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Reasons why gorillas are going extinct
Why are gorillas going extinct, gorillas going extinct – Gorillas are the biggest species of the great ape family. Gorillas are close relatives to humans, sharing a DNA of 98%, only a difference of 2 percent separates it from humans. Gorillas are fascinating animals found in the tropical and sub-tropical forests of Africa. They are categorized into the eastern and western gorillas which are also further divided into 4 subspecies; mountain gorillas and eastern lowland gorillas are subspecies of Eastern gorillas while western lowland gorillas and cross river gorillas are subspecies of western gorillas. All these gorilla species are endangered but mountain gorillas are the most critically endangered specie. Mountain gorillas are found only in Bwindi Impenetrable forest and Mgahinga national parks in Uganda, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in the DRC. Mountain gorillas can’t also survive in captivity. They almost got extinct during the 19th century but because of the work of conservation, their number is rising but they still remain critically endangered. There are different factors that why gorillas are going extinct and they include the following;
Loss of habitat
The major cause for the extinction of gorillas is habitat loss. Gorillas live in forested areas yet these forests are being destroyed by humans because of encroachment. Humans encroach these forests for different reasons but most commonly because of need for land for agriculture, settlement and commercial purposes among others. Since the gorillas cannot cope with other different kinds of vegetation and conditions, they become homeless and are exposed to death since their natural habitats are destroyed.
Poaching for bush meat
Poachers are one of the reasons why gorillas are getting extinct. They illegally access the forests, kill the gorillas and sell the gorilla meat to people who badly want to eat this meat. The main purpose of poach to these people is to earn some money from the gorilla meat and they get their market mostly from wealthy people. Since poachers target many other different kinds of animals, sometimes gorillas fall in traps of other animals’ traps.
Diseases
Gorillas are very prone to human infections because of the high DNA they share with humans. Humans can pass on respiratory infections such as a cold with gorillas. These put the lives of gorillas at risk.
The outbreak of Ebola also highly affected the population of gorillas. In 1994, the outbreak of Ebola in Gabon swept away all gorillas and chimps there and in 2002 to 2003, there was an outbreak in Congo and it killed more than 90% of the gorillas.
For traditional medicine
Gorillas are killed by some people so as to use some of their body parts in traditional healing. They believe that those parts of the gorillas have charms and magic and are highly needed by traditional healers, therefore poachers kill them also for this reason.
Civil Wars and instabilities
Countries such as the DRC have faced civil unrest for a long time and conservation work could not go on in such areas. These animals are also killed by rebels while others remain as orphans and later on die. Wars and instabilities destruct a lot of people from their homes and later on settle near the forests and sometimes encroach on them.
Wildlife trade
Selling wildlife such as gorillas or their body parts to people who are interested in them is said to be of huge exchange. This is because people who need them use them for prestigious things and those who kill them know that there is ready market which they will highly gain from. people who are greedy for this money kill the primates with confidence that they are going to earn a lot, and this is one of the reasons why gorillas are going extinct.
Oil and gas exploration
Areas near Virunga national park in the DRC have oil which has attracted a number of oil companies that carry on different work regarding the oil and gas in this place. The work destructs the life of the gorillas in the forest and also has a negative impact on the environment.
Construction of roads
Roads that are constructed through forests lead to destruction of gorilla habitats and also force these primates to get displaced. It also gives opportunity to poachers to easily access the forests and kill the gorillas.
