Gorilla’s
could be Extinct If Not Conserved for Future Generations!
Of the few
Mountain Gorilla’s that remain on Earth estimated less than a Thousand, almost
half of the population live in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable and Mgahinga
National Parks while the rest can be found in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and some in Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). The Shy and Gentle Mountain Gorilla’s are the Earth’s
largest living Primate and the Regions most famous tourism attraction. Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park is said to host about 300 Mountain Gorilla’s, almost
half the entire Mountain Gorilla population living in the wild today.
Several
factors often threaten the existence of the Mountain Gorilla’s thus their
dwindling population such as disease, poaching, human population encroachment
of their habitat the rain forests among others. Gorillas are open to same
diseases which effect humans since they are closely related to humans with
similar anatomic and physiological features. Gorillas live in small groups any
exposure to any kind of illness affects the entire group which may fail to
recover from the entire fall that’s why human contacts are restricted. All
Gorilla trackers are instructed to keep a distance from the Gorilla’s. Most
scary diseases include flue, Scabies which can quickly spread from group to
group as families interact.
Poaching
is another threat which has claimed many lives of gorillas in the jungle forest
till present for example a while ago some European and American scientists and
trophy hunters killed over 50 mountain gorillas which effected the population
of the living apes today. Hunting is another problem because many Gorillas have
been injured by hunters who go to jungle to hunt other wildlife life. The
latest events shows that hunting of
mountain gorillas in order to capture their young ones by corrupt dealers
remains a threat for example an infant Gorilla was recovered outside Virunga
national park in 2013 who was later the
joined to other three rescued gorillas & orphan from poaching in Rumangabo
for monitoring.
Population
growth of the people living near the park is the worst of all threats since they
both compete for the forest land. The people need land for farming, agriculture
in order to support their families while Gorillas destroy the farm crops and
also limit the local community from access the forest land. The only way to
maintain gorilla habitat is to develop alternative economic activities that allow
people to meet their daily needs, so that they see gorillas not as competitors,
but as a means of improving their own situation.
The
regional conflict is another threat, changing climate, weak regional
collaboration but me & you can change this if we try. With a population of less
than a thousand Mountain gorillas remaining in the world
today, a lot of conservation effort is needed in order to conserve the mountain
Gorillas for the Future Generation.
Diany
Fossey, Carl Akeley, George Schaller are the other great Gorilla
conservationist who followed Robert & their work focused global attention
on the troubles of gorillas. Still it’s that Effort which makes many travelers
have wonderful lifetime memories every time they visit Uganda, Rwanda or DRC
for Gorilla trekking adventures. We all agree that the above Conservationists
did a great job in conserving the mountain gorillas without forgetting the
local communities of Uganda especially around Bwindi forest and Mgahinga
National park, Locals of Rwanda around and near the Volcanoes national park &
the people of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Each countries local
community deserves a bonus for ensuring the survival of gorillas and also
allowing the guests to access their reach jungle forest to trek the Gorillas.
The National park staff like wardens and ranger guides has done a lot to ensure
that the conservation rules can be maintained in all the three countries.
Several
organizations have come up to conserve Gorillas and these work hand in hand
with both the local communities and park management. They include the mountain
Gorilla conservation fund (MGCF), international Gorilla conservation program (with
programs in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo), Fauna & Flora international (only in
Rwanda), Wildlife Wild places & forests (WWF) all over Africa, Rwanda
development Board (RDB), Uganda wildlife Authority the main organization (UWA).
There is a very big change unlike back then before 1902. According to the World
Heritage Wildlife animals, the Gorillas where discovered on October 17th
1902 by Robert Von Beringe in Virunga mountains who was the first non-African
to encounter the Mountain Gorilla
stopping the hunting habitats which had
driven the rare primates to the edge of their death.
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