Cooper Davis

Saving the Critically Endangered Mountain Gorilla from Human Interference 

Everyone knows that there are critically endangered species all around the world, but did you know that there are some species that are down to less than 1000 in their population? The Mountain Gorilla lives in just 2 isolated areas in the world for approximately 10,000 years. One in the Virunga volcanoes borders Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Their numbers have been diminished down to just 1,004 specimens left in the wild and that has been caused due to disease, human encroachment, and forest degradation. We desperately need to save the Mountain Gorilla from factors that have been caused by their own ape cousins!

My first point is the primary reason the Mountain Gorilla population decreases which is from the clearance and degradation of their native forest home. The mountain Gorilla has been around 34 to 24 million years and has been untouched by humans until we devastated their homeland. Around 15 billion trees are cut down each year. Since the beginning of human civilization, the global number of trees has dropped by roughly 46%. All of this is causing them to be isolated to just 2 small sections in Africa where only 1000 specimens live. The main way we can help the Mountain Gorilla is by ending the deforestation of their land and building sustainable wood and trees that have naturally fallen down without human interference. So we can see how destroying and wiping out their habitat is taking their lives away from them and forcing them into very secluded areas.

My next point is showing how the human race are encroaching upon and ripping their lands away, and then building our own buildings and structures like mines that can have minerals inside that can harm the Mountain Gorilla and any other species in the area. Inside the Gorilla Habitat in Virunga National Park, people make charcoal mines and use the natural resources to harvest charcoal as a fuel source in cooking and heating. The charcoal production (of which is illegal) has decimated the gorilla habitat. So we can not only learn how we are using these Great Apes' homes as our own ways of mining materials that can harm not only animals, but plants and basically the world as well.

 My final point is how disease has riddled the population of the Mountain Gorilla. Mountain Gorillas are susceptible to many of the same infectious diseases like respiratory tract diseases, pneumonia and the main one of which is COVID-19. There is an easy solution to stop these diseases by admitting vaccines and isolating them to stop the spread of the diseases. You yourself can also help out the Mountain Gorilla by donating to certain conservation groups that can use that money to make vaccines and stop the death rate of the Mountain Gorilla. So I have clearly shown you how diseases have affected the lives of not only the mountain gorilla but other species that are similar.

I have clearly shown you that the world has a vast number of species (such as the Mountain Gorilla) that are in serious danger of becoming extinct. Disease, human encroachment, and forest degradation are some of the main reasons why these majestic creatures are suffering their own mass extinction. You can make a donation to the gorilla conservation organizations such as Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.