Even as some of the most powerful primates in the world, gorillas remain vulnerable to the threats humans have imposed — including habitat loss, poaching, and climate change.
It’s an image hard to ignore — a dead silverback gorilla carried on a makeshift stretcher by fifteen men. This gorilla, perhaps killed by a trap or snare, or a spear (which is what happened to the beloved gorilla, Rafiki), had only just been roaming Central Africa’s dense RAINFORESTS moments before his death — peacefully foraging for food alongside the family he led for many years.
Despite an increase in poaching protection and law enforcement, these heartbreaking scenes are still captured today — and gorillas are critically endangered because of it. But poaching isn’t the only driver threatening these great apes.
