World Gorilla Day 2024: It is the largest primate, despite having a mainly herbivorous diet. Their DNA is 97-98% similar to that of humans, but they can measure two meters and weigh 200 kilos. There are two types of gorillas: Him westernwhich is subdivided into the lowland subspecies and that of cross the river; and the orientalwhich in turn is subdivided into mountain and lowland gorilla. Las four subspecies are threatened with extinction, three of them are in serious danger.
Loose gorillas disappearing from the earth, fewer and fewer remain as a result of the effects of climate change poaching and the loss of habitat. Therefore, World Gorilla Day is celebrated on September 24to raise awareness of the problem that the disappearance of these special animals would entail.
Zane Fossey
Since the American zoologist Zane Fossey has drawn the world’s attention to this beautiful monkey, international efforts to ensure the species’ protection have not ceased. Some efforts have been made to protect mountain gorillas allowed to reverse the trend toward extinction, and in 2018 the population of mountain gorillas It once again exceeded a thousand individuals.
Preserving their habitat among the volcanoes Virunga and the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has been the key to achieving this success. However, this subspecies and the other three have many more threats that we must address to ensure their future.
First of all, the gorillas They are still hunted consumption of their meatin certain places considered a deli, or for the illegal trade in living individuals, especially babies. There are still gorillas hunted for use of parts of their bodies ornaments or amulets. Also the gorillas They are victims of traps set for other species with which they share their habitat, such as antelopes and other smaller mammals.
So is the habitat destruction in all African countries where they live there is still a major threat to the gorillas and the rest of the animals they share the environment with, as this is the first cause of species extinction. Global warming, logging, mining, etc. Deforestation and habitat fragmentation of these and other primates is increasing every day.
One of the most dangerous activities for this ecosystem is illegal mining of mineralsespecially those that are of great value to the technology industry, such as coltan and cassiterite. Large sectors are deforested, roads are opened to trucks (which are also used by poachers), the soil is degraded, and many guerrillas settle in the area to take advantage of it, often feeding on wildlife, such as gorillas, whose population in the conflict zone of the Democratic Republic of Congo has fallen dramatically.
In habitat protection programs gorillas It also tries to avoid contact between human populations and these monkeys because, being genetically very similar, they can infect each other. diseases.
The gorilla is a highly intelligent primateshowing extensive empathy and a complex system of social relationships.
