Good Question: How Did Gorillas Become Endangered?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo was part of an endangered species. There are fewer than 200,000 western lowland gorillas alive today.
That got us wondering -- how did gorillas become endangered? Good Question.
Gorilla numbers have declined by more than 60% over the last 20 to 25 years. There are a few obvious reasons, like poaching and logging, but also other threats people may not know about.
Dominic Travis is an associate professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Minnesota. He's spent the past 15 years working on health and conservation issues with gorillas throughout Africa.
"A lot times, the parents are killed and the babies are put in markets for pets and things like that," he said.
Travis said humans are primarily to blame for the dwindling population, both directly and indirectly. Directly, gorillas are prey for poachers.
"Basically people are stealing them and selling them for money to survive," he said.
Indirectly, they're threatened by habitat loss, particularly logging and deforestation.
Disease is also to blame for the dramatic drop in numbers. Travis said because primates are genetically closer to humans than other animals, gorillas contract similar diseases. They can get Ebola, malaria, and even a form of HIV.
But Travis says overall, the biggest thing they have to fear is us.
"When we talk about apes it just gets more emotional and higher concern than some other species, because we feel closer to them because they are genetically closer to us," he said.
The World Wildlife Fund says that even if all threats to Western Lowland Gorillas were removed today, it would still take the population about 75 years to recover.
If you would like to help the plight of the gorillas, you can donate to the World Wildlife Fund or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
