Large Hairy human-like creature with a broad chest and shoulder, a gorilla is said to be the largest living primate in the world. Gorillas are the second closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees because they display human-like behaviors and emotions, such as laughter and sadness. They have human-like hands and a top-fold over their small eyes that are set into hairless faces and a ridge of bone running from front to back on the top of the skull.
There are only two Species of gorillas that is; the western gorillas which are lowland gorillas that inhabit lowlands with a small population and are said to be found in West Africa, west of the Congo River, and the Mountain gorilla said to have been researched about by Dian Fossey in the 1980s and are found in Central Africa.
Mountain gorillas live in groups known as troops and each troop is headed by leader that is an adult male mountain gorilla called the “Silverback”. They are called “Silverbacks” because of the silver saddle of hair on their backs. Silverbacks have long black hair and thick, shaggy coats that help to keep them warm in cold climates. They are the most endangered species of Gorillas and only found in the tropical rainforests of East and Central Africa. It is said that there are approximately 700 Silverbacks left in existence today. Silverbacks scares away other animals by standing erect on its hind legs, tearing up and throwing plants, drumming on the chest with its hands or fists, stamping its feet, striking the ground with its palms and galloping in a mock attack on all fours. Mountain gorillas are herbivores, and eat only bamboo and leafy plants.
Why gorillas are so attractive today?
A number of reasons that make gorillas so attractive today have been pointed out; mainly the natural and human threats that sound them and thus a belief of being extinct have largely contributed to gorillas’ large attraction in Africa.
The lowland gorillas are believed to be at the risk of a heart condition known as “fibrosing cardiomyopathy” which is a condition where the heart muscle is abnormal and is a common cause of heart failure and/or sudden death in middle-aged or elderly great apes, especially in males.
Gorillas in all parts of the world are dying and the causes confirmed to be disease, a diet, and a plant. 70 percent of deaths of the male gorillas that is; older than 30 are as a result of heart disease, mainly Fibrosing cardiomyopathy. Scientists believe that it might be a bacterial or viral infection of the heart that’s responsible for the condition.
Poaching, hunting, trading and consumption of gorillas in countries like Congo Basin countries where most gorillas and other apes are found continues unabated due to a lack of enforcement of national and international laws, together with ineffective judiciary systems.
In central and West Africa there is a high demand for bush eat commercial trade especially for ape meat which is a threat to gorillas today. The consumption of ape meat is considered to be prestigious amongst the wealthy elite. Getting to know the exact numbers of gorillas towns poached is complicated because they are often butchered and eaten on the spot, or their meat is smoked and later
taken to for sale.
Gorillas have a low reproductive rates means that even low levels of hunting can cause a population decline, which could take many generations to be reversed. Gorillas are also frequently killed by traps and snares intended for other forest animals such as antelopes.
Gorillas are also said to be used for Traditional medicine and live animal trade. They are hunted after as pets or trophies and for their body parts, which are used in medicine and as magical charms.
There is rapid destruction of forests for road building activities, commercial logging interests and for subsistence agriculture; making it harder for gorillas to maintain their lives.
Gorillas and other Apes are responsible for the spread of infectious diseases, notably Ebola and in the early 1990s; Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak were have caused large-scale die-offs of great apes. The outbreak of Minkébé (northern Gabon) in 1994 wiped out the entire population of what used to be the second largest protected population of gorillas and chimpanzees in the world.
The Ebola virus claimed many human lives in the north of the Republic of Congo between 2002 and 2003 and at two study sites in and around Odzala National Park, 95 percent of the 600 identified gorillas died likely as a result of same virus.
Looking at a positive note; the gorilla trekking tourism industry has a large positive impact on the communities in and around the national parks. Tourism offers employment and economic benefits that create positive spin-offs for gorilla conservation. The local people benefit a lot from gorilla tourism since now the gorillas are increasingly seen as income-generating animals that are expensive as long-term tourist attractions.
With the growth in local investments, both economic and social, provide a drive to protect the gorillas, so that the rewards continue in terms of education, health care and economic motivation. Today gorillas are now being conserved compared to before when they were as viewed as sources of food, unfortunate casualties in hunting snares, competitors for habitat hunting trophies and targets for unsustainable cash injections from poaching. In most cases former poachers are now game rangers and work as anti-poaching patrols that play a vital role in keeping the gorillas alive.
A tourist who wishes to see a gorilla goes through the following steps;
- Has to buy a gorilla permit to go gorilla trekking. A visitor pays the park authorities for trekking excursions and in the end contributes to gorilla conservation by helping to fund the management of the reserves.
- He/she stays in local lodges, hires local operators, participates in local activities and eats in local establishments thus supporting the local economies and this helps to create more healthy communities in and around the national parks that provide safe havens for the gorillas in the rain forests.
- Very much advisable to wear a surgical mask while with the gorillas and also follow the rules and listen to your guide’s instructions in the forest and must not trek if they are feeling sick.
