Eastern gorillas facing extinction - only 5000 left

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's global conference in Honolulu it has been confirmed that the majestic species of Eastern Gorillas (Gorilla beringei) is now facing the risk of disappearing completely - there are hardly 5,000 of them left on Earth. This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 7 September 2016.

This is attributed to poaching because, poaching of wildlife is an industry that is growing at a fast pace and is promoting the already flourishing business of illegal wildlife trade. People forget to realize the importance of the existence of our animals and our biodiversity because it is etched in the functioning of the universe. Unfortunately, mankind marred by selfish motives, continues to seek personal benefits, which involves killing wildlife. Consequently, many animals are fast reaching the rungs of extinction and the latest species to fall victim to this are the Eastern Gorillas which are the world's largest gorillas. In addition, four out of six of the Earth's great apes are now critically endangered. These are Western Gorilla, Bornean Orangutan and Sumatran Orangutan. This has been indicated in the updated Red List of the IUCN - this is believed to be the world's most comprehensive inventory of plant and animal species. IUCN goes on to add that chimpanzees and bonobos are now endangered. The dwindling population of Eastern Gorilla is due to war, hunting and loss of land to refugees in the past 20 years have led to a "devastating population decline of more than 70 percent. In fact, one of the two subspecies of Eastern gorilla, known as Grauer's gorilla (G. b. graueri), has drastically declined since 1994 when there were 16,900 individuals, to just 3,800 in 2015.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Colony of red squirrels in Wales scared stiff due to rave parties

Red squirrels in the UK have been identified as a protected species and one of the largest colonies of these animals is being scared off by illegal ravers. It seems 2,000+ people descended on woodland in Ceredigion, Wales, and went in for three days of non-stop unbridled fun and loud music over the Bank Holiday weekend.
In the opinion of wildlife experts, the disturbance will have a damaging effect on the protected species.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 9 June 2016.

AS revealed by the Welsh Wildlife Trust, apart from Anglesey, there are two main populations of red squirrels and the one in the woods around Llanfair Clydogau and Llanddewi Brefi is the largest. It is the area where one can see most of the red squirrels. It is also the place from more recent sightings have been reported.
However, the this rave would have had a bad impact on not only the colony of red squirrels, but on the local wildlife in general. Animals can grow accustomed to regular disturbance but, problems occur when something happens in an area that has previously been left untouched. There is usually very little human activity in that area, hence the effects of the rave could potentially be far greater.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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