Endangered gorillas

Mountain gorillas (about 1004 left)
Eastern gorillas (about 5000 left)
Western gorillas (about 316,000 left)

How to save the gorillas:

Learn More About Gorillas

Visit the zoo anytime for a fun, immersive way to find out more about western lowland gorillas both in human care and in the wild. Simply watching them go about their day is an education in itself—and can provide hours of fascination. Stick around for the daily zoo Ape Cognition & Care demonstrations, which provide additional information about the research we’ve been doing with the gorillas, how they have choice and control over their environments, and how we can help them thrive in the future.

Look For The FSC Logo On Products You Buy

One of the biggest threats gorillas face today is deforestation. This is often a result of development—logging or clearing the land for agricultural use. Unfortunately, in today’s urbanizing world it isn’t realistic to simply stop all the processes that benefit humans, even if they reduce the amount of usable animal habitat in the world. That's one important thing you can do to support healthy forests. This can help a diverse array of species, including gorillas, and it’s easy to do.

Palm Oil In Your Everyday Life

Palm oil is in a majority of the food, beauty, and cleaning products we buy, and the clearing of forests for palm oil plantations poses a severe threat to wildlife. However, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has been working to minimize that threat. It has developed a set of voluntary basis to ensure that certified, sustainable palm oil is being produced and sold, and many companies have joined the effort.

Coltan And Recyclable Cell Phones

Cellphones and other portable electronic devices use a mineral called coltan. The mining of coltan contributes to the destruction of habitats that support gorillas. When you recycle your cell phone, the coltan in it can be reused. That reduces demand for new sources of coltan and also keeps the dangerous chemicals in your devices out of landfills. 

Spread The Word
Once you’ve learned more about the plight of gorillas in their native habitats, we hope you’ll be inspired to do more. And as you continue the same journey we’re on—learning to lower our negative impacts on the world while increasing the good—we encourage you to share what you know, either in conversation or over social media. This is a great way to reach friends and family and keep others in your circle aware of how you really can help at any level. It takes one small, conscious step. 

How we think we can save the gorillas
There are many ways we can stop the extinction of gorillas. One of the main reasons is to stop poaching. Another way is to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the air. 

Causes of Extinction 

Illegal trafficking
Exploitation of their habitat
Some mountain gorillas live in rainforests. Rainforests are always being cut down.
Some people believe that certain gorilla body parts have magical properties.
Wildlife Trade
Poaching baby gorillas, or trading them for money
Quote about Gorillas 

“The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people”

Dian Fossey

Thank you for reading our

presentation!

Resources: 

lpzoo.org/5-easy-ways-you-can-protect-gorillas/ 

wildgorillasafaris.com/how-can-we-help-save-mountain-gorillas/