Sustainable Choices to Protect Eastern Gorillas, Week 14

A female Eastern Gorilla and her infant. Wikipedia, labeled for Reuse.

For my endangered species, I decided on the Eastern Gorilla, which is also known as the "Gorilla beringei." The eastern gorilla has many distinct characteristics, such as a very broad chest and body, dark hair covering the entire body bar the hands, feet, and chest. Out of all animals, gorillas are the closest to humans, and resemble homo sapiens very much. The eastern gorilla's habitat is the forest, mostly in Africa.  Gorillas are omnivores, which mean they tend to eat mostly plants, but also eat insects and rodents, but are not predators of many large animals. The biggest predator of the gorilla is the leopard, but other than that, the biggest threat to the eastern gorilla population is human related.

The average lifespan of the eastern gorilla is about 35 years old with a generation length of 20 years. Through this time, the average eastern gorilla has an offspring about every four years after the age of ten. Many offspring do not survive, though, with only a handful living to reach full maturity. 

Currently, there are about 2,600 living. mature eastern gorillas, but this number is continuously dropping. 

A silverback gorilla in the rainforest

The eastern gorilla is found in the tropical forest. In general, the term "forest" is used to describe a large area covered with trees. These forests have very poor soil, but the trees and other plants in these areas have been able to adapt over the years. This biome features very heavy rainfall, leaving the soil very wet. The abiotic features of this biome can include a surplus of water, along with different rocks, minerals, and soils. The lowlands of the rainforest, however, tend to experience prolonged amounts of dryness, and feature plants and shrubs which hold water in their cells during these periods.

A map of Africa from Mapswire

Specifically, the Eastern Gorilla is found in the tropical jungles and rainforests of eastern and central Africa. Mostly, the eastern gorilla can be found in the lowlands of the forests, where extended periods of dryness can be found and contain different types of plants that can hold water in their cells. The temperature in these areas tends to change very little, usually staying around 23 degrees Celsius.  The tropical rainforests tend to thrive on sunlight, with the trees being the biggest fact of this, as they compete for sunlight with the other plants. Furthermore, this biome thrives on the rain. The large amounts of rain is what makes the biome unique, even the lowlands in which the gorillas inhabit. 

Short Video on the Congo Forest

The major threat I chose was Human Intrusion, as it is pretty broad, and covers most of the issues that are causing the Eastern Gorilla population to decrease. According to the IUCN, this includes residential and urban development, recreational activity, military and war related disturbances.

Because of these issues, the habitats are becoming smaller and smaller, due to the extraction of resources in the tropical forests. Directly relating to the eastern gorilla, illegal mining has ruined many parts of the habitats of these gorillas in the rainforests. 

Tar Sands in Alberta from Wikipedia

The tropical rainforests are not the only biomes in which mining occurs and destroys habitats. This also happens in the Boreal Forests. According to the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the boreal forests fall victim to the mining of tar and oils. These areas, known as "Tar Sands" are areas with sand or sandstone saturated with bitumen, a viscous form of petroleum, which can be mined and processed to produce oil. To start this process, natural waterways must be diverted, which changes the natural landscape. Furthermore, to extract these oils, large areas of these forests must be cleared, which destroys habitats, similar to that of the illegal mining in the Congo Rainforest. 

Currently, there are some conservation efforts directed towards Eastern Gorillas and their habitat. 

The first, is legal framework and laws set up to help protect them. The issue with this, however, is that laws are very difficult to enforce out in the rainforest, and but to the IUCN, conservation efforts are expected to pick up in the future, as the DRC government begins to stabilize the east. However, at this point in time, many areas with these gorillas living, are now protected areas, making it illegal to hunt them, which is a great start for conservation efforts.

A video from Ellen DeGeneres and her trip to Rwanda. 

The average person in Keene does not have too many hands on opportunities to help with the conservation efforts of these animals, but they can always donate to different foundations which are very involved already. Foundations such as The Ellen Fund or The International's Union for Conservation of Nature are just two foundations that people are able to support, but there are many different ones out there. By donating to these organizations, a regular person in Keene, New Hampshire is able to take part in a larger, conservation effort.