The following is a guest post featuring the work of a student enrolled in SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology. This exceptional work highlights the importance of primate conservation. I hope you find this piece informative and are inspired to make a positive change in the world that will help this and other endangered primates.
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| Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Copyright: Karl Ammann; Source: World Wildlife Federation) |
By: Trey Sestak
The mention of the country Democratic Republic of Congo may conjure images of dense jungles and the large, exotic animals, such as crocodiles, elephants, and the Eastern lowland gorilla, that live in this area. The Eastern lowland gorilla is known by many names, including the Eastern gorilla, Grauer’s gorilla, or the Gorilla beringei graueri. Unfortunately, this gorilla can also be categorized as critically endangered as assessed by the IUCN (Robins, 2018).
The Eastern lowland gorilla maybe an unfamiliar name, but it is in fact easily recognized. Of all the primates the Eastern lowland gorilla is by far the largest at over four hundred pounds (on average) but unfortunately falls short in height at about five and half feet (Christopher, 2022) As for their physical attributes; they have a muscular physique with dark fur covering their bodies, the exception being to the face, hands, and feet. Male Eastern lowland gorillas are also known to grey from the shoulders down their backs once they have grown between eight and thirteen years of age, giving them the nickname of Silverbacks. This greying stage is not exclusive to just the Grauner’s gorilla but every gorilla species, the silvered backs are associated with the patriarchal leader and is limited to one for every family unit (Christopher, 2022). Despite their size, strength, and in some cases aggression, all gorillas are strictly herbivores with exception to some insects, but despite how they are depicted in popular culture, they do not eat bananas.
Accounting for the condition of the Democratic Republic of Congo, many of these gorillas’ interactions with humans are unfortunately very detrimental, which has led to the Eastern lowland gorilla being placed on the endangered species list. Both intentional and unintentional human interferences are to blame, whether it be habitat destruction from human development or getting caught in humanity’s civil unrest. Nothing harms the Eastern lowland gorilla population more than the bushmeat market, as said on the website Gorilla-Haven, “Driving forces behind a boosted demand for bushmeat (meat from wild animals) include war and violent unrest, as it drives refugees away from their normal occupations and closer to or even into gorilla habitats” (Eastern Lowland Gorilla, 2022:1).
Luckily, several laws were passed to protect animals classified as endangered, of which established national parks to protect the area and prohibits hunting of endangered animals with recent emphasis on the Great Apes (Gorillas-World, 2021). The bushmeat trade is a problem for vast assortments of endangered animals, even with their hunting deemed illegal internationally. There is desperation on the human side as well. The act of war is destructive not just for the foundations of these animals but the people both caught in the middle. Many local authorities who could enforce these laws are often too preoccupied with the conflict to properly act.
But it does not always have to be authoritative intervention alone to help endangered animals, sometimes it is the local communities who take it upon themselves to act, this holds true for examples of community managed forests. As stated in the website Earth.org, “Now that communities own the forests for themselves, they have a better incentive to protect them, motivated by the steady employment, health care, payment of school fees and improved living conditions the Fossey fund provides, Ngobobo said. He added that locals now alert Fossey fund staff when they notice a suspected poacher roaming their forest” (Starling, 2021:1). There are even steps taken by organizations to educate the next generation of school aged children of the importance of their local forests and the animals within (“Why Gorillas Matter”, 2020). The Eastern lowland gorilla’s importance when it comes to the ecological maintenance of their forest home should not be understated especially due to their large size and herbivorous diet, eating large quantities of fruits and other seeded plants adds to the biodiversity of their territories. After consumption, the indigestible seeds are expelled in a new location for growth, the gorilla having unknowingly played the role of dispersal for the sedentary plants that cannot be spread effectively by wind (Starling,2021).
Nonhuman primates are our closest known relatives, even if we are estranged by millions of years. In every interactive study of nonhuman primates, we learn more about ourselves and what we once were. All of nonhuman primates should be spared extinction, their niches are unique to them and important to the dispersal of new foliage and in some cases sustenance to natural predators. If not for the benefit of every primate’s ecological place, then just an act of preserving our relatives and past should be enough reason. It would be easy if the fighting just stopped and the gorillas were left alone, but that is unrealistic at the current moment. Instead, all that can really be done are the acts of the few, helping these animals through good will alone and have faith in a bright future for not just these gorillas but every animal who needs help.
Work Cited
Robbins, Martha, et al. “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Eastern Gorilla.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2 Aug. 2018, Retrieved October 4, 2022 www.iucnredlist.org/species/39994/115576640.
Christopher, Ssekanyula. “Why Called the Silverback.” Gorilla Info Hub, 22 Feb. 2022, Accessed 17 Oct. 2022, from gorillainfohub.com/activities/why-called-the-silverback/.
“Eastern Lowland Gorilla.” Gorilla Heaven, 19 Apr. 2022, Accessed October 5, 2022, from
https://www.gorilla-haven.org/eastern-lowland-gorilla/
“Why Gorillas Matter- Save Gorillas. Save the Planet.” Dian Fossey, 23 Sept. 2020, Accessed October 5, 2022, from gorillafund.org/uncategorized/why-gorillas-matter-save-gorillas-save-the-planet/.
Starling, Marlowe. “In DRC, Community Ownership of Forests Helps Guard the Grauer’s Gorilla.” Mongabay Environmental News, 6 July 2021, Accessed 16 Oct. 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-drc-community-ownership-of-forests-helps-guard-the grauers-gorilla/.
8 comments:
I myself have so many close friends/family living in Kinshasa! (Congo). This topic was so interesting to me, I also wrote about the lowland gorilla and how they’re facing extinction due to invasion of forests etc. Instead of seeing the benefits of Gorillas we tend to take advantage and use them for our own good. Gorillas are actually very special animals. They are essential for the long run especially for curing certain diseases. Extinction today is caused by our lack and misuse of our resources and greed. We are surely responsible for our own eventual destruction. They play a major role in acting as an “umbrella species”. Protecting Gorillas helps protect plants, animals and even ourselves. Great blog!
Sabthana R.
I always find it extremely sad whenever I learn that animals no matter the species, is facing the horrible fate of possible extinction. Especially when it is at the hands of humans and their destructive habits. The Eastern lowland gorilla appears on paper as a gentle giant and should be treated as such despite their appearance, and it's unfortunate that it is the exact opposite. Instead, they're hunted and turned into "bushmeat" not only hurting an entire species, but the environment as well. It is a wonderful thing that they managed to implement laws to protect and finally stop the danger towards these primates. Just because they're animals, does not mean they deserve to be hunted after for sport.
I always did love the silver back gorillas due to their brute force they kind of remind me of myself I’m glad they’re getting protected keith McConnell
I have always found primates interesting out of all mammals, mostly because of their relationship to humans, but also their complex social organizations, interactions, and personalities. All animals surprise me with their levels of intelligence, but primates especially. I hate how bad of a reputation many primates have, especially gorillas, despite them being amazing creatures. Gorillas and many other primates are often gentle with bursts of aggression when threatened. I did not know that gorillas were only five and a half feet tall though, I thought they were much taller than that. They definitely make up for that lack of height with their muscles, they are so strong. I think it is so sad that gorillas and other primates are endangered or have gone extinct. Especially when humans are the problem like in this case. Why would anyone even want to eat a gorilla? I hope more can be done to protect animals like the gorilla from extinction in the future.
While reading over this blog, I learned an abundance of things that I did not know regarding this species of gorilla. The lowland gorilla is the most displayed or thought of regarding their species. But I was unaware of its name and its strict diet. Over the years I strongly believed that gorillas consumed bananas. As presented to the public. Another thing that caught my attention was how this species may be facing extinction. Along with a variety of others and it is pretty heartbreaking. I believe that these animals deserve a long, healthy life and to be protected at all costs. They are also herbivores so they consume mostly plants and fruits containing seeds. So once they consume and release them, they are influencing the dispersal of natural resources. With that being said, these species should not face extinction and need to be protected as a whole.
Every time I hear about an animal being endangered it is a sad topic. I did learn a lot from this post though because I did not know this much about this specific specie of gorillas. They weigh as much as I thought they would but like others I did assume they were much taller than five feet and I also was unaware of their diet also assuming that they eat bananas were true. So this was a very insightful post to me. Although the bushmeat trade is deemed illegal I know it still happens sadly but it is a good that their are local communities to help because sometimes it is up to peoples communities to help protect these species. I also thought it was cool how they play a role in dispersal of sedentary plants and I might do research after this post to see how they are doing now.
- Keira Robinson
From this post, I learned that Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest primate and that every gorilla species has silverbacks. This blog post actually aided me with writing my final paper on primate conservation. This post gave me specific examples of steps and programs people can partake in to increase primate conservation. -Tala Caples
It's heartbreaking to hear about the challenges faced by the Eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their critically endangered status is a clear indication of the threats they face from human activities, such as habitat destruction and unintentional interference. It's important for us to raise awareness about the importance of conservation and protecting these magnificent creatures. Thank you for sharing this information and shedding light on the situation.
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