Vital Gorilla Habitat Falling At Rate Of Two Sq. Km Daily - Reuters

[hatrack]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — "The United Nations urged Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday to protect vital ape habitats on their borders after a huge swathe of forest was cut down on the Congolese side.

The U.N. was responding to reports that six square miles of mountain gorilla habitat had been cleared in the Congo part of Virunga National Park, threatening one of the planet's rarest and most magnificent wild animals.

There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world. They live in the lush mountains straddling Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo, and any loss of remaining habitat could push one of humanity's closest relatives to extinction.

"Reports of extensive forest destruction and human encroachment (in Virunga) ... have profound implications for the future viability of this ecosystem," Klaus Toepfer, the U.N.'s top environment official, said in letters to the environment ministers of the three countries. "Evidence from satellite, aerial, and ground surveys indicates that habitat destruction has occurred in some areas at a rate of up to two square kilometers a day," said Toepfer, who is head of the United Nations Environment Program."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-07/s_25618.asp

[DenverDem]

1. As the gorillas go, so goes humanity.

Small, short term dollars trump an irreplaceable legacy in the 21st century. Humans are pretty stupid and greedy.

[blindpig]

2. way too much pressure

Considering the population density on the Rwanda side and the blitzkrieg that the extractive industries are doing this species is in very big trouble. The range that a gorilla group requires and the number of breeders needed to maintain genetic diversity conspire to doom this species.
Goddamn but I'm tired of typing the same doom & gloom every time I see one of these threads but happy talk don't make it when talking about extinction. What's to going to take to wake people up to this irreversible tragedy? Perhaps the extinction of a fellow sentient species?

[hatrack]

3. If you're not careful, Republicans will start calling you a "pessimist"

;-)

[blindpig]

4. you're probably right, I should lighten up

look on the bright side, take the koolaid:as more birds become rare I can add more rare birds to my life list! When I'm sitting around in my dotage(if there's anything left to sit on)I can regale kiddies on all of the extinct animals I have seen. And then there's the wonders that genetic technology has in store for us, maybe some new species!
I feel better now. I'm not a pessimist.la la la la..........
(sarcasm, what sarcasm?)

[hatrack]

5. Reminds me of "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood

Along with plenty of web porn, animal snuff sites and state-sponsored execution webcasts in the future, she also predicts "Extinctathon", a web-based trivia game which demands an encyclopedic knowledge of all the critters that didn't quite make the evolutionary cut - in Atwood's book, it's a real growth industry!

[blindpig]

6. yup, read that

A fine read, my favorite Atwood to date. Left me a bit creeped out. Welcome to the Future!