GORILLAS

NEWS: Wildlife conservation is not only about ecology, but equally about governance, public health, community participation, political stability

ABOUT

• Gorillas are the largest living primates and are native to Equatorial Africa.
• They share ~98.3% DNA with humans, making them key to evolutionary and behavioural studies.
• Live in stable family groups called troops
• Led by a dominant male called a silverback, named after the silver hair patch on mature males
• Mostly herbivorous
• Very slow reproductive rate: Females give birth once every 4–6 years
• World Gorilla Day: September 24

IUCN Red List

• Critically Endangered: Western Lowland Gorilla, Cross River Gorilla, Eastern Lowland (Grauer’s) Gorilla
• Endangered: Mountain Gorilla,Upgraded from Critically Endangered in 2018 due to successful conservation

CITES

• All gorillas are listed under Appendix I
• No international commercial trade allowed

Major Threats

• Habitat Loss: Commercial logging, agricultural expansion, mining (especially Coltan in DRC – used in electronics)
• Disease: Highly vulnerable to human respiratory diseases, Ebola virus has wiped out entire populations in Congo Basin
• Poaching: Bushmeat trade, illegal capture of infants for pet trade

Important Protected Areas (Places in News)

• Virunga National Park: Africa’s oldest national park, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: Nearly 50% of global mountain gorillas
• Volcanoes National Park: Associated with Dian Fossey
• Cross River National Park: Critical for rarest subspecies