Agency for International Development and the U.S. Continuing support from nongovernmental groups, along with donors such as the U.S. What can be done? Because one of the most serious threats to great apes is poaching (killing of great apes is illegal, worldwide), the first priority is to ensure protected areas are functional, and that includes installing highly effective law enforcement and supporting wildlife protection elsewhere. (Image credit: Zanne Labuschagne/WCS) Going forward But with the good, comes the bad: These populations are known to be declining at 2.7 percent annually. This is almost a third more individuals than prior numbers indicated. ![]() The study also revealed that 360,000 western lowland gorillas call the Republic of Congo home. We have all seen images of oil palms from horizon to horizon on other continents, and oil palm is a looming threat to African apes, according to a 2014 study published in the journal Current Biology.įrom under cover of leaves and branches, Buka, a silverback gorilla in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, watches the forest. There has already been some forest loss and degradation, but in the future this will be dwarfed by the clear-cutting of forests for croplands as the range states move away from selective timber exploitation (which leaves the forest still standing) towards industrial agriculture. If land-use planning for economic development does not take into account biodiversity and conservation, industrial agriculture could soon replace vast tracts of the forest home of these great apes. Rather, they live in large, forested landscapes with formally protected areas (such as national parks and reserves) at their core, and in swamp forests. What else has changed since 1988? Deadly outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have burned through mammal populations in northeastern Gabon and western Republic of Congo, wiping out more than 90 percent of these great apes across one-sixth of their entire range.Īs we look to the future, most worrying is that 80 percent of western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees live outside the relatively safe havens of protected areas. With the opening of the Central African forests to timber extraction, the only remaining bastions of roadless land – where hunters still have to walk – are now protected areas and huge swamp forests. But if he hops on a truck, he can travel 50 miles (80 km) into the woods in a few hours, hunt and come back within days, loaded with the meat of wild animals that he no longer needs to carry on his back. A hunter can walk up to 20 miles (32 km) a day along elephant paths or human trails in the forest. Historically, these forests were accessible only on foot or by canoe along one of the rivers. ![]() Why has this happened? The population declines can be attributed largely to poaching, and those decreases are exacerbated by disease and easier access to the forests as new road networks penetrate deep into Western Equatorial Africa's interior - or, to paraphrase science writer Jared Diamond: guns, germs and trees. ![]() All western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and central chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes troglodytes) live in this vast forest west of the Congo River, which covers around 290,000 square miles (751,000 square kilometers) - an area larger than France - and spans three entire countries (Gabon, Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea) and parts of three others (Cameroon, Central African Republic and Angola). The forest home of this gorilla and his family is one of the remaining great-ape strongholds - part of the huge Western Equatorial Africa region. A young gorilla was trying to beat her chest like the adults did but had not yet learned the trick she failed to make the distinctive pok-pok-pok-pok sound, or indeed any sound at all. Back in camp, Tutin said, "You see? Nothing happened." In fact, it was an unforgettable week at Lopé National Park in Gabon that included a first glimpse of a western lowland gorilla family.
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