There are two species of gorillas on Earth, both of which are critically endangered. Each has two subspecies: The western gorilla is divided into western lowland and Cross River gorillas, while the eastern gorilla is split into eastern lowland and mountain gorillas.
Western lowland gorillas are the most abundant subspecies by far, with an estimated wild population of more than 300,000. But given the threats they face, their declining population, and their slow reproductive rate, they aren’t nearly as safe as that number seems to suggest. The other western subspecies, the Cross River gorilla, is much rarer and also in steep decline. Down to a total population of about 250, it’s considered highly vulnerable to extinction.
Eastern lowland gorillas, also known as Grauer’s gorillas, have suffered dramatic losses in recent decades, with their population falling by 77% between 1996 and 2016. Fewer than 3,800 are thought to remain in the wild. Mountain gorillas, while still scarce and at risk, offer a rare ray of hope for gorilla conservation. Only about 1,000 exist, but that’s a big improvement from the early 1980s, when their total population had fallen to 240. Thanks to “extreme conservation” over the last few decades, including intensive day-to-day protection of gorilla families, that number is now believed to stand at 1,069.
Threats To Gorillas
All four subspecies of gorillas are endangered, but the nature and severity of those threats vary from place to place. Overall, the most pressing dangers for wild gorilla populations are poaching, infectious disease, and the loss and fragmentation of their habitat.
Poaching
All capturing, killing, and consumption of gorillas is illegal, but that hasn’t stopped the illegal bushmeat trade from decimating wild populations in many important gorilla habitats.
While gorillas are targeted by some poachers, they also commonly fall victim to opportunistic hunters as well as snares meant for other wildlife, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Poaching is the primary threat to both western and eastern lowland gorillas, and the threat is growing as logging and mining roads make it easier for poachers to get in and out of dense forests.
Disease
After poaching, the No. 2 cause of declines among western lowland gorillas is disease, according to the IUCN. The Ebola virus specifically has caused a series of great ape die-offs since the 1980s, the worst of which often had mortality rates as high as 95%.
Populations in protected areas began to recover in about a decade, research shows, although a full recovery would reportedly take 75 to 130 years and that’s only if all poaching stopped, which the IUCN notes is “an unlikely scenario.” Transmission of human diseases is a big concern for Cross River and eastern gorillas, too.
Habitat Loss
Loss of habitat is a widespread threat to all great apes, including gorillas, but it differs from place to place.
Western lowland gorillas have an emerging problem with oil-palm plantations and industrial-scale mining, for example, both due to the habitat they displace directly and the development corridors they enable, which can further fragment the forest and isolate gorilla populations.
For many Cross River and eastern gorillas, habitat is being lost mainly to encroaching human settlement, which often means forest is removed by illegal logging or the expansion of villages, farmland, and pastures. Between 1995 and 2010 alone, Cross River gorillas reportedly lost 59% of their habitat.
Above are some of the reasons why gorillas are endangered. Vibrant Holiday Safaris takes part in the gorilla conservation activities to prevent these from happening.