The world's largest gorilla stands on the brink of extinction

Eastern gorillas - the world's largest primate species still exists - has been listed as an animal on the brink of extinction due to illegal hunting and civil war in African countries.

According to the report published at the International Conference of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), taking place in Honolulu, Hawaii, with 5,000 Eastern gorillas (scientific name: Gorilla beringei) available on worldwide, this primate is facing the risk of complete disappearance.

Scientists point out that among the six major monkey species in the world, four are on the verge of extinction, including Eastern gorillas, Western gorillas, Bornean Orangutan and Sumatran Orangutan orangutans.

Illegal hunting in Africa has pushed eastern gorillas to the brink of extinction.

Chimpanzees and dwarf chimp bonobos are also listed as endangered.

In the past 20 years, the number of eastern gorillas has decreased by 70%. Plain gorillas - one of the two subspecies of eastern gorillas, plummeted in number, from 16,900 in 1994 to 3,800 in 2015.

Meanwhile, the mountain gorilla - another subspecies of this primate - also decreased significantly, to about 880 heads.

The cause of this situation, according to IUCN, is due to the war, hunting is massive, lack of living space and mining activities.

According to researcher primate Russell Mittermeier, chairman of the primate group of IUNC, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the majority of eastern gorillas are concentrated, the conservation of this primate is difficult due to love. political unrest.

Scientists also argue that many Rwandans running refugees to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo to flee the Rwandan genocide in 1994 began a series of activities that greatly affected the natural habitat. of the planet's largest primates.