Gorilla Conservation Wildlife Conservation325...320...250... If responsibility is the burden of power then we as humans have come up woefully deficient in that department...the countdown above refers to the remaining number of certain gorilla subspecies but it may as well be a countdown to extinction! You Can Help Like all the other great apes, gorillas are endangered. Some subspecies are in fact listed as critically endangered, and unless a concerted worldwide effort is made, this magnificent species will unfortunately go the way of the dodo.
The reason why this has to be a worldwide effort may not be immediately obvious, so let's first identify the current and most pervasive threats to the gorilla. BUSHMEAT TRADE -- Although wild animal meat has long been part of the staple diet of indigenous forest dwellers, the rate at which these animals are being slaughtered has reached alarming new levels.
This increase is most likely a direct consequence of deforestation.
As things stand today the bushmeat trade is the single greatest threat to the survival of the gorilla.
VANISHING HABITAT -- As mankind's seemingly insatiable appetite for land (slotted for commercial use) continues unabated, in its wake lie the ruins of large tracts of forest and other habitats once home to many an endangered species. As mentioned earlier, the upward spiral in the bushmeat trade is a direct result of deforestation which in some measure is responsible for:
COLLATERAL DAMAGE -- The bushmeat trade is not restricted to apes alone. As far as the hunter is concerned any animal caught in his snare is fair game. Frequently gorillas run into snares intended for other animals, and even if they escape, may end up losing the ensnared limb and ultimately dying.
ANIMALS ILLEGALLY IN CAPTIVITY
--Up until the 1980's gorilla infants were often illegally captured and sold to recepient zoos. Usually the capture of the infant meant the deaths of several adult gorillas, because there was no way a troop of gorillas was going to allow the forced removal of one of its own without a fight. Happily though this situation rarely, if ever, happens today. Most gorillas currently residing in zoos were born there.
In fact the majority of young animals captured illegally could be considered as collateral damage to the bushmeat trade...survivors to the slaughter of their parents.
SUMMARY
To summarize, the most immediate threats to the survivial of the gorilla and other great apes are:
Saving the gorillas can only be successfully achieved through the combination of grassroot and international efforts. International commerce is the driving force behind deforestation, which directly impacts the gorillas by destroying their habitat and by facilitating the bushmeat trade. Furthermore, the loss of forest land also affects the indigenous people, and may drive persons who were otherwise not so inclined, into hunting and the bushmeat trade to make ends meet. HOW CAN YOU HELP? There're a number of excellent organisations you can contribute to that are doing an excellent job of monitoring and helping to rectify the precarious situation the gorillas and the other great apes of the world are currently in. Below is a list of some of these organizations.
Organisations Involved With The Preservation of Gorillas and the Other Great Apes Originally founded in 1978 by Dian Fossey as The Digit Fund (following the untimely death of her favorite gorilla, Digit) The Fund was later renamed The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF) in 1992. Ever since its inception and after the still as yet unsolved murder of Dian Fossey this premier gorilla conservation organization has been working double time to ensure the gorillas have some form of sustainable future.
Bushmeat Crisis Task Force The BCTF, founded in 1999, is a consortium of conservation organizations and scientists dedicated to the conservation of wildlife populations threatened by commercial hunting of wildlife for sale as meat.
Also known as Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe, this organisation has been involved with gorilla conservation since 1984. They are an excellent resource for what's going on in the gorilla-conservation world and actually provide online access to articles and reports compiled from previous years' conservation efforts. Formed in 2002 and based in Uganda, Conservation Through Public Health provides a grass root approach to gorilla conservation: by enlightening communities living next to gorilla reserves that they have more to gain from participating in conservation efforts as opposed to trading in bushmeat (i.e.,receiving part of the proceeds from park revenues and opportunities to establish tourist-driven businesses) and that by addressing health issues (many human diseases are transmittable to gorillas) they are protecting that investment.
Established in 1976, The Gorilla Foundation has been promoting public awareness about the plight of the gorillas through, amongst others, Koko the gorilla who communicates via sign language. The Gorilla Foundation is currently involved in an ambitious project to provide a secluded 70-acre reserve in Maui that simulates the natural habitats gorillas reside in, in Africa.
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