Mountain gorillas have only started to accumulate in numbers in the recent few years, thanks to researcher Dian Fossey’s efforts that kick started this hopeful trajectory. Before the mountain gorillas were on the blink of vanishing from the face of earth but due to her efforts and other conservation agencies at least 1060 individuals can be visited and appreciated in the wild today. These can be encountered in Virunga national park in Congo, Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks in Uganda as well as the mighty Volcanoes national park in Rwanda.
Why are gorillas poached? This is a common question among people who love and are interested in wildlife conservation and panic at the thought of these marvelous gorillas being wiped completely off the face of the earth. Below are some of the reasons why gorillas are poached.
Bush meat.
This is the top and biggest reason for mountain gorilla poaching. These apes are poached with the intent of selling their meat to high end markets across central and West Africa. Most of these wealthy people believe dining on gorilla meat is a sign of great prestige and only equated to only a few prestigious dishes. The high demand of gorilla meat and its high values has influenced many locals to indulge in poaching mountain gorillas as an option to earn greatly from the profiting illegal trade of gorilla meat.
Medicinal purposes.
Mountain gorillas are highly being poached due to the false belief across west and central Africa that gorilla meat holds great medicinal content. They also believe some mountain gorilla body parts are essential in making magical spells and charms. This absurd myth has prompted the endless poaching of these giant though helpless apes. Learn more about these myths and beliefs in gorilla species.
Pet trade.
Another popular reason for poaching gorillas is to satisfy the ever raising pet trade. They are sold abroad to illegal private animal shelters owned by wealthy folks. Poachers are tempted by the opportunity to earn a lot of cash through selling Mountain gorillas abroad at the expense of conserving them for future generations.
Accidental poaching.
Sometimes mountain gorillas are not the main target for poaching. At times they accidentally fall in snares meant to trap other residents in the forest like antelopes. This usually results into their death or maiming them with nasty blemishes in case they survive.
In addition to the above reasons mainly related to poaching, survival of mountain gorilla species is also threatened by the following;-
Political conflicts. A few central African countries like D.R. Congo are marred by insurgences and so gorillas are killed during crossfire or by explosives meant for enemies.
Contagious diseases such as Ebola and pneumonia since gorillas are susceptible to human diseases too, can claim their lives when exposed.
Encroachment on forest areas by humans where these mountain gorillas inhabit. This forces them to seek refuge to higher altitudes which are not suitable for their delicate lives and some of them die in the process.
How you can help?
With all these factors in place and posing a direct threat to the existence of mountain gorillas, conservation and protection measures are being employed to ensure the sustainability of these great apes even for the future generations.
This is done by different government bodies like wildlife authorities which assign park rangers and patrol teams who have the task of monitoring gorilla movements and lifestyle, face poachers and remove snares set in the park.
Enormous efforts are being put in creating awareness and engaging the local communities to appreciate the importance of conserving Mountain gorillas and other primates in the forest. This has helped in reducing human-wildlife conflicts as well as poaching. Their numbers have therefore been steadily rising over the years.
But you can also play a role in this grand cause; by paying a visit to meet these elusive mountain gorillas! A certain percentage (more than 80%) is directed to conservation of these apes, paying salaries of rangers and patrol teams and improving awareness through community engagements, plus other benefits. Undertaking a gorilla trekking safari plays a greater role in their conservation than you can ever imagine.
