Gorillas Endangered

Gorillas Endangered

Both of the species of gorillas are classified as endangered species. Even with such a threat to them, poaching continues to be a huge problem and one of the main reasons why they are in trouble. They are killed and then the meat of them, often referred to as bush meat, is sold for a profit.

In many parts of the world, body parts of gorillas are sold as souvenirs. While that may seem completely out of line to some of us, for others it is simply one more way in which they can claim to have dominance over various animals found in the world. Hunting of them takes place in Africa too in order to stop them from eating the crops that are grown for the village people to live on.

The destruction of the natural habitat that the gorillas call home is another reason why they are endangered at this time. They move to find food and that can be a problem when the areas that they have to travel become smaller and smaller. It can result in them not having enough food. As a result some of the troop members may have to leave in search of a new one. However, with the depletion of their land there can be no where for them to go.

The population for the people in Africa continues to grow at a very fast rate. This means more area is cleared out for them to grow food and for their homes to be erected. The logging industry is also very profitable so the forests can be wiped out in order for those that own such businesses to make money.

Global warming continues to destroy vegetation in areas where it was once very plentiful as well. This is a huge problem because without the moisture in the environment many of the plants that they thrive on won’t be growing like they were before. So even in the areas that they do have left, there is often not as much food found in them as there once was.

From time to time large numbers of gorillas have been wiped out due to various types of viruses. These problems seem to spread very rapidly and even the healthiest of the troops aren’t able to survive it. In 2006 more than 5,000 of them died from the Ebola virus in Africa. The people of Africa often feel that they are in direct competition with the gorillas. They feel that by destroying them they will allow humans there the chance to live a better life.

They will also consume them out of desperation when their own food sources are low. They will kill the largest gorillas they can find so that there is food for a large number of people. They feel this means they have to kill less of them. However, if they are killing the leaders of the troops then the future for the rest of them is in jeopardy.

It is believed that there are only about 50,000 gorillas left in the wild today. When you break this down in to the sub species then they amounts of them are even smaller. For example the Mountain gorilla has only about 600 left in the wild. Informing the public about how gentle these creatures are in the wild is very important. They aren’t destructive creatures as they are often portrayed.