Why Mountain Gorillas Are Close To Extinction

Why Mountain Gorillas Are Close To Extinction

Why Mountain Gorillas Are Close To Extinction : These are some of mans’ closest creatures. The have suddenly hit the red button as they are just about 900 of them left in the world today and specifically limited to Rwanda Uganda and DRC. We look at some of the factors that have led to their depletion. Below are some of the prime reason why Mountain gorilla are close to extinction.

Habitat loss

The population of people is increasing day by day and therefore people are looking for more land for settlement. This has led to clearing of forests leaving these creatures with no option.

Traditional medicine

several parts of the gorillas are also highly sought after for magical charms by the traditional healers and this has also posed a threat to their existence.

Hunting

Gorilla meat is so sought after given the fact that these animals are rare. Unlike in the past, these day the meat is so much for export than it was for local consumption.

Oil and gas exploration

The discovery of oil especially in the DRC has created more greed for land and therefore people don’t care about the animals anymore since the oil can give them more money and in a short period compared to the gorillas.

Wildlife trade

Mountain gorillas are also targeted for illegal wildlife trade. Sometimes they are killed accidentally as these poachers are trying to kill other animals like the elephants and the like. This unrest in their habitat scares them away and they run to areas with minimal survival for them hence death.

Diseases

When a lot of people come close to the habitat of these gorillas, their are high chances of disease and they are more exposed to the variety of human infections. Them being delicate, it had to put up with human infections and therefore die easily.

War and instability

The continued civil wars especially in DRC in the 1990 and the genocide in Rwanda also affected the population of these animals. The continued presence of forces in their habitat also hindered their livelihood.