Mountain Gorilla - Rwanda. Photo courtesy of www.ecotours.com
Zoos and Aquariums have proclaimed 2009 to be the Year of the Gorilla so we thought we would give you 10 days of Gorilla Blogs and focus a bit of time on the largest of the Great Apes.
Some gorilla populations are the object of concerted conservation and restoration efforts. However, gorillas as a whole remain endangered and continue to face severe threats. All the great ape species of Africa – the bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas, and the orangutans of Southeast Asia, are in steep decline, and the rate of loss is increasing virtually everywhere.
The Statistics: There are four recognized subspecies of Gorilla which fall into two species (scientific names in italics):
The Western Lowland Gorilla species Gorilla gorilla or is separated into two subspecies
-Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) contains between 125,000 and 200,000 individuals remaining in the wild
-Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) only 250-300 individuals remain
The Eastern Lowland Gorilla species Gorilla beringei is made up of
-Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla beringei) may be as low as 5,000 individuals, down from 17,000 in 1995. This population is difficult to monitor due to political instability in their range countries
-Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) 700-740 individuals remaining
The Houston Zoo will be hosting Dr. Michael Cranfield, Executive Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as part of our Call of the Wild Lecture Series September 10th, 20009. Please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/ for ticket information. Seating is limited for this special event.
*This is part 1 of 10 in our Mountain Gorilla Membership Madness giveaway. Post a comment on 3 mountain gorilla blogs before August 14 and enter to win a free Houston Zoo membership!
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It would be a sad world if these animals were allowed to be poached to extinction.
Im looking forward to hearing all about Gorillas this month!!!
Gorillas and all other animals are our responsablity. We are to look after them and try our best not to harm them. However in the past we have not always done that. Now is the time that we all have to do our part even if it is small (recycling something, using cloth bags at the store, ect)If we all do something small all our small actions will add up to something BIG. We have to act before it is to late.
I look forward to reading more about the different species of gorillas. Hopefully, with more education people will become more aware of their predictiment and do more to help them.
Getting a free Membership to check out these Huge creatures would be a a great learning experience I never knew these gorilla where on the endangered list…WOW
It is interesting that the lowland gorillas are doing better in numbers. Does this mean that thei habitat is more intact? less fractured?
The Cross River Gorilla has such a low head count that I am wondering abot their remaining genetic diversity. When does the thead count become too low to genetically maintain a healthy population. Can they be crossbred with Western Lowland Gorillas?
Are there any captivity program that can successfully produce gorillas so that the offspring could be reintroduced into the wild?
Which rock group do the primates go Ape over?
The Monkees!
This is a great program in order to create awareness of Gorillas.
Sounds like the lecture will be a great one to attend. I will try to make it on Sept 10.
I have always wanted to see gorillas in the wild. They are such fascinating creatures.
While I greatly enjoy visiting gorillas (and all other creatures) at the Houston Zoo, it always breaks my heart a little to see them in captivity. I would certainly rather see them in the wild and I’m sure that is the ultimate goal of most zoo breeding programs. I would like to see even more being done to educate locals in the regions surrounding the gorilla’s natural habitat. Through increased eco-tourism, both the people and the animals will benefit.
I am so proud to see our Houston Zoo taking an active role in the conservation efforts of these intelligent, majestic creatures! For years those of us who are aware of these issues have watched other zoos and their strides on this front. Creating these natural habitats to increase their populations and educating future generations in our global conservation goals are steps that we Houstonians are honored to be a part of!
I hope the question, “What are gorillas?” will never be asked in the future. The things I have seen gorillas do have been quite comical and a tad gross but that is just one reason (of many) to enjoy these fascinating animals. I hope the Houston Zoo will continue to feed our curiosity for these animals in addition to keeping them in a safe, comfortable, and familiar environment.
I work for an organization that brings conservation efforts into the schools. This year we are focusing on the Congo and it’s Gorilla population. I’m very excited to be a part of this project and learn more about these magnificent animals along the way!
Thanks Kellie – everyone should take a look at The Earth Foundation website at http://www.earthfound.com/
Awareness is an excellent first step; and there are active steps one can take to help not just gorillas but many threatened species:
1) obviously, monetary support is vital!
2) NEVER EVER eat buy or otherwise patronize establishments serving bushmeat.
3) Research, and then direct your other spending with conservation in mind: gift shopping, coffee buying etc. Buying products that make a concerted effort to save gorillas is one easy way to help, but even more generally eco-friendly shopping helps too. What kind of coffee are you buying–is it causing the destruction of animal habitats or conserving them? What kind of wood floors are you buying–is your coffee table contributing to the destruction of more habitats?
4) Educate your kids/nieces/nephews/cousins/neighborhood/random kids. They’re the ones who will be living with the effects–it’s their futures, and of that of the gorillas too. Teach them about gorillas (and other endangered species, how endangerment of species happens, about earth-friendly practices, and conservation. And let them see you doing the same, after all, MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO!
THere are many more direct activities one can do, but until we all start doing them, these beautiful creatures face a very bleak future.
I am proud to have the Houston Zoo be a part of the conservation effort by inviting Dr. Cranfield to lecture on these majestic creatures. I believe the first step in helping with a cause is to be well-informed so that people are awaware of the problem.
My family loves the gorillas! All the monkeys are our favorites though.
If every single person on Earth made it their daily duty to educate and help preserve all wildlife our animals would not be in danger. I think so many people feel that they can leave it up to someone else to do the work for them, that’s just not true! Take your children to the zoo, show them how wonderful animals are and how important they are to our ecosystem. If you don’t tell them, how will they know?
Fell is love when I saw Gorillas in the Mist, So beautiful.
Love to see the gorillas at the zoo. Went with my third grade students and they loved to see how much they acted like them. There personalities shine through and they are a joy to watch…one of my favorites were the ones with a rainbow on their backside..I can’t remember the name….
We love to visit the zoo several times a year and enjoy seeing all of the animals and learning about them. We are excited to learn more about the gorilla this month as we read the blogs and it is sad to see how few there are remaining in the wild. It is good to see that the Houston Zoo is trying to educate people on this endangered species. Thanks so much for this blog.
I love the Zoo. As a native Houstonian, I have lots of pics and memories from many years. I still love the gorillas and the elephants the best.
I have always loved the zoo!
For my bachelorett party this June, my bridesmaids surprised me by starting the activities out at The Houston Zoo.
We had a blast!
i’ve been to the houston zoo twice in the past year and have never seen a gorilla there. the last time i saw a gorilla there was in 2002. will the houston zoo be having gorillas in the future?
So what is the largest cause of the decline? Habitat removal, poaching?
Thanks for the info. It would be interesting to hear Dr. Michael Cranfield speak. The dwindling of natural habitat for these magnificent creatures is a sad thing. I hope it can be turned around.
The plight of the gorillas is our responsibility. I hope this series will bring awareness, and, hopefully, a plan for their survival.
Every opportunity becomes available to learn about something new and interesting for my child and myself is GREAT!
Do gorillas crossbreed? And if they do, it wouldn’t really help their numbers would it? Because wouldn’t it technically be creating a new species?
These subspecies distribution do not overlap and each seem specifically suited to the habitat in which they currently reside (social structure, foraging behavior, etc.)
I hope these beautiful animals dont become extinct. It’s our jobs to protect them in my opinion.
I found this blog a little late, but I just wanted to say that it is very informative and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I also wanted to say that I am pleasantly surprised that the zoo staff take time out of their busy days to blog for the website. I do have a suggestion, when the zoo does bring back gorillas.. could there be more than one? I felt so bad for the last one, always looked a bit lonely. I do appreciate the efforts this zoo has made over the years to improve habitats and add enrichment to the lives of the animals in its care. This zoo has come light years ahead from where it was in the 1970′s when I was a child. THANK YOU!!
The zoo currently has plans in the next few years to bring a gorilla troop back to the zoo. Phase 1 of African Forest will be complete in December 2010 and then we will begin planning for the new gorilla exhibit.
I am glad that attention is being focused on the plight of these marvelous beings.
what do they have that mankind feels they need to be making them endangered? im sorry if this is a dumb question but i find it hard to believe that we would could make this beatuiful creature diappear!!
So sad that these beautiful creatures are endangered.