Why Do People Poach Gorillas

Why Do People Poach Gorillas: Despite conservation efforts from lost of parties, gorillas are still endangered animals. Mountain gorillas are a primate species and a sub species of the eastern gorillas. The mountain gorillas in the earlier years in the 90s were faced with a possibility of extinction as the numbers kept dropping and this was majorly human effect of the humans poaching the gentle giants. The mountain gorillas have always lived in the Albertine rift and there are 3 national parks that were established in the area to protect the mountain gorillas.

The national parks that are home to the mountain gorillas are the Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park and the Mgahinga forest national park of Uganda, the Virunga national park of the Democratic republic of Congo and the Volcanoes national park of Rwanda. Before the last mountain gorilla census that was held in 2018, the estimated mountain gorilla population was about 900 individuals putting these primates on the IUCN critically endangered species list.

Mountain gorilla numbers were worrying and with a combined effort from some stakeholders and gorilla passionate individuals like the late Dian Fossey saw the protection of the current mountain gorillas and these gorillas gave birth and this raised the numbers to up to 1,063 individuals which put them up from critically endangered species to endangered species and numbers have been growing since then.

Some national parks are being faced with a challenge of mountain gorillas still being killed or stolen from the parks and a few of the reasons are as discussed below.

For clout

Mountain gorillas are still looked at as the king of the jungle and they symbolize strength and power so some local communities still believe once they hunt a mountain gorilla, it will show their strength and will be respected among their peers. One mountain gorilla would need up to 4 full grown adult men to put it down so once one man killed one in the past, the people would feel protected under his rule.

Medicine

One of the reasons Why Do People Poach Gorillas is that the mountain gorilla homes are in the most native parts of most of these countries and the people living around the national parks are still believers in traditional methods. The great apes are generally poached to be used in the traditional activities by the traditional healers who use several parts of the mountain gorilla as charms or magic.

Food

Mountain gorillas are sometimes poached for food and some people eat gorilla meat and this is majorly the wealthy who can afford this meal. Some locals before conservation of the mountain gorillas also survived on gorilla meat and also fed on these gorillas in times of war in their home area. Besides eating the bush meat, those who sell the gorilla meat earn from it so they poach for a source of income. This is a desperate measure for some people to make some extra cash.

Animal trade

Some gorillas are poached to be sold to the wealthy people who would want to keep the gorillas as pets especially the lowland gorillas. Unfortunately for the mountain gorillas, their life span in captivity is very minimal so they would definitely die once taken out of the wild. You can only visit the mountain gorillas in the wild in the above mentioned four national parks.

Ignorance

The national parks where the mountain gorillas are found have communities living around them and the biggest number are illiterate and do not see the value of conserving the mountain gorillas but with the continued conservation efforts of the park authorities, the communities have been enlightened and the cases are subsidizing.

Mishaps

The poachers at times set traps for the smaller game like the antelopes and the baby gorillas fall prey of these traps which usually leave them wounded most times and if help is not availed quick then the gorilla could die.

Unrest

Mountain gorillas were a source of food in the areas that had unrest as people resorted to hiding in the forest during such times and this was the available food especially in the Virunga national park and this closeness of the gorillas to the people also fastened the spread of any airborne viruses like influenza which causes death in the mountain gorillas.

Selling their meat

Another reason Why Do People Poach Gorillas is that in most of these Central African countries, gorillas are eaten and therefore most people earn family income by selling their meat. Since they are rare animals even their meat is very expensive. Some people even think it heals some of the illnesses in the land. Exporting this meat to countries in Europe is actually the best option that people consider in the modern days.

A portion of people also consume its meat while in the bush. This is most common among military groups that seek asylum in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Keeping them as private collections

Gorilla are strong animals that were always feared in the land. Most people kill them with just a reason to show their strength and keep there body parts as evidence that they did so.

Hunters hunt down and capture the gorillas to make private exhibitions like zoos. They are kept as pets though this is not so common due to their size and since they are fragile and need a lot of care to adulthood. Most of these people actually fail to give the proper care and the gorillas end up dying.

Selling their body parts

Traditional healers believe that parts from the gorillas can act as medicine to most of the dangerous diseases in the land. Since some of these diseases have no cure, people do whatever it takes to kill the gorillas being convinced that its the only cure. Witchcraft does attribute a big percentage to gorilla poaching and remains a common threat.

So many gorillas lose their lives daily; some in huge numbers and some solo. Countries like Rwanda and Uganda that have stepped up conservation efforts have started seeing an increase in the number of these primates.

Such acts as Poaching affect tourism in Rwanda and end up frustrating Rwanda Safaris. Stop Such acts against nature.

Some individuals even after the war still stayed and settled in the park encroaching on the land that was once a home to the mountain gorillas forcing them out in the open prone to attack. The money paid for mountain gorilla trekking in all the destinations has a conservation fee percentage so as you pay for a mountain gorilla permit; you are indirectly contributing to the safety and growth of the mountain gorillas. A mountain gorilla permit in Rwanda goes for 1,500 USD, in Uganda goes for 700 USD and in DR Congo goes for 400 USD and we can help you with the booking of any of the destinations.