The Mountain Gorilla is one of the 10 most endangered animals on Earth, and it may not be here much longer. For decades, mountain gorilla populations have been dwindling as uncontrolled hunting, disease, habitat loss and the ravages of human conflict have taken their toll. The mountain gorilla are now considered endangered. In the 1980s, […]
Tag: gorillas
Snares: Low-tech, low-profile killers of rare wildlife the world over
On an early morning in January 2013, rangers patrolling Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, a 6,000-square-kilometer (2,300-square-mile) UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Democratic Republic of Congo, spotted a young female Grauer’s gorilla. Known to the rangers as Iragi, a name that means “lucky” in Congolese, she had a wire snare wrapped around her hand. Unable to […]
Tropical mammals under rising chemical pollution pressure, study warns
Tropical mammals are living in an ever-changing chemical landscape warns a recent study, with wildlife increasingly exposed to an array of plastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and nanoparticles. The recent study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, warns that this underrecognized threat requires urgent action. Colin Chapman, a biologist and professor at George Washington University, and his […]
Stray juvenile lion shot dead by the Uganda Wildlife Authority for killing and eating people’s livestock
On April 8, 2022, Uganda Peoples Defence Forces soldiers shot and killed a stray juvenile lion that had spent days murdering and eating people’s livestock in many communities in the western Uganda region of Kagadi (UPDF). The lion was shot during a combined operation combining Uganda police, the Uganda Police Force (UPF), and the Uganda […]
Campaigners criticise European zoo proposals to cull adult male gorillas
Campaigners are hitting back at zoo proposals to cull adult male gorillas, arguing they should be returned to the wild instead. Overcrowding of critically endangered western lowland gorillas in zoos has led the influential European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Eaza) to consider killing adult males of the species. Eaza is the body that regulates […]
Gorilla baby boom sparks hope in DRC, but threats to great apes persist
As a clear morning dawned on May 18, 2021, a baby was born. She was a gorilla, born to the Mapuwa family, one of 10 gorilla families in Virunga National Park, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A month later, news broke that another gorilla, Mafuko from the Bageni family, was born on June […]
African Parks secures $100M for conservation in Africa
African Parks, a South Africa-based conservation group that manages 19 protected areas covering 14.7 million hectares in several African countries, has secured a $100M commitment from the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation. The grant, which will be allocated over the next five years, will be split between a $75 million endowment, that will fund organizational […]
POLL: Should experimental coronavirus vaccine be tested on zoo animals?
According to the New York Times, in early July an experimental coronavirus vaccine for animals began making its rounds at the Oakland Zoo in California. During the course of the summer, about 100 zoo animals are going to receive the vaccine, including mountain lions, ferrets, bears, and tigers. The veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis is donating […]