Regardless of who you ask, gorillas are an endangered species. There are probably only 22000 left worldwide. This has been greatly influenced by reasons such as;
- Human encroachment because of activities such as mining and human settlements
- Poaching for bush meat
- Hunting for trophies
- Habitat loss- gorillas need vegetation to survive as they feed on plants. Destruction of vegetation in the habitat has lead of reduction in availability of food for the gorillas
- Deforestation- cutting down of trees for human settlements has led to gorillas almost becoming extinct because gorillas also get their food from trees.
- Diseases like polio and Ebola virus.
Gorillas rarely reproduce and if they do, they reproduce very slowly, with females only giving once every four years or never. This can also be linked to their complex social structure leading to a low population. Removal of one gorilla from a troop can greatly impact its ability to sustain itself.
It is a great disaster be losing our closest relatives on the planet.
