Four of the six great apes that currently inhabit the planet – eastern gorilla ( Gorilla beringei ), western gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla ), Bornean orangutan ( Pongo pygmaeus ) and Sumatran orangutan ( Pongo abelii ) – are “critically endangered” from extinction , according to the latest update of the Red List of Species just published at the World Conservation Congress, which is held in Hawaii. Things look a little better for the other two species of great apes, the chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) and the bonobo ( Pan paniscus ), but even so they are classified in the “Endangered” species section of this list published by the Union. International for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The most striking thing about the latest update of the List is the classification of Critically Endangered (that is, one step from extinction) of the world’s largest primate, the eastern gorilla ( Gorilla beringei ), mainly due to illegal hunting. , which is the main threat to these animals according to experts.
The eastern gorilla has suffered a drastic reduction in its population, which exceeds 70%, in 20 years. The total population of this species is currently estimated at less than 5,000 individuals. The eastern lowland gorilla ( Gorilla beringei graueri ), one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has lost 77% of its population since 1994: from 16,900 individuals to only 3,800 in 2015. Unfortunately, although it is forbidden to kill or capture large apes, hunting poses the greatest threat to the eastern lowland gorilla. In contrast, the other subspecies of the eastern gorilla, the mountain gorilla ( Gorilla beringei beringei) , is in a better situation, and its population, which currently numbers about 880 individuals, has increased slightly in recent years.
For IUCN Director General Inger Andersen, “it is really worrying to see the eastern gorilla – one of the closest species to man – heading towards extinction . We live in a time of great change and each update of the IUCN Red List shows us that the global crisis of extinction is advancing at great speed. However, we know that conservation actions pay off and we have growing evidence that this is the case. We have to intensify our efforts in order to reverse the trend and safeguard the future of our planet ”.
It’s not just the great primates that are in danger. The IUCN Red List currently includes 82,954 species, 23,928 of which are classified in some of the sections of species threatened with extinction. One of the most critical is the plain zebra ( Equus quagga ), in the past with an abundant and widely distributed population, it has moved from the Least Concern to Near Threatened category. The population has decreased by 24% in the last 14 years, from about 660,000 individuals to just 500,000. Three species of African antelope – the bay duiker ( Cephalophus dorsalis ), the white-bellied duiker ( Cephalophus leucogaster ) and the yellow-backed duiker or forester cephalophan ( Cephalophus silvicultor ) -, previously considered Least Concern, are now classified in the category Near Threatened.
Additionally, the Red List highlights the growing threats of extinction to which Hawaii’s flora is exposed as a result of invasive species. Of the 415 species of endemic plants of the archipelago evaluated for this update, 38 are classified as Extinct and another four Extinct in the Wild, that is, they only exist in cultivation.
