Worland, Justin. “Endangered Species: Gorillas Gorillas Face Greater Threat.” Time, Time, 6 Sept. 2016, time.com/4480968/endangered-species-panda-gorilla-iucn/.
This article focuses on the critical endangerment of the eastern mountain gorillas. It describes how 4 out of 5 of the great Ape species are critically endangered. It explores how it is very troubling that all of humankind’s closest cousins are near to falling into oblivion. The article highlights the differences between the gorilla and the panda, as the Panda has had years of hard effort being dedicated to preserving and the gorilla is still in need of much help.
This article has an interesting take on environmental science; because the giant panda and the Eastern mountain gorilla do inhabit similar habitats but have not experienced the same societal attention they are in rather different situations. It is interesting to why people have focused so much less on an animal which is much more closely related to us than the Giant Panda. I believe that saving the critically endangered apes should be far more important to us than it has been. They are our closest cousins and aside from their importance to the ecosystem, there should be inherent value on their existence.
I think that’s where umbrella species come in to play. When you save the big ones, all the other species benefit. As the text says, protozoa and fungi never really attract the attention that tigers, panda, and gorillas get. That said, gorillas are umbrella species. It is really sad that gorillas aren’t getting the attention they deserve. However, it is unfortunate that their habitat is in an area that are dangerous-like Garamba and Virunga National Parks. The strife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is making conservation work really difficult.
It is really true that often, political or civil unrest within counties can prevent conservation from moving forward in the crucial ecosystems of unstable countries.
I found this article interesting because of how certain animals are overlooked by others. I agree that the Apes are important and wonder the significance of them not being a priority?
I agree! It is strange that some animals are more popular than others when it comes to preservation. Could it be a cuteness factor?
I think both are important for helping/saving. I do understand though what you’re saying- that since they are closer to us and they could provide beneficial research to better help us understand evolution and human. Hopefully, both will be focused on being saved.
Why do you think that there has been less focus on Gorillas? Lack of awareness?
And, since the pandas have received lots of attention and help, how much better is their situation?
Do you think we as a society should care more about saving species that are more closely related to us?
You seem to make it a pretty big point that because the gorillas are closely related to us, we need to take action, as opposed to other animals that are endangered. I think that is a very interesting point, but I wonder if that kind of thinking man be dangerous. If we start to prioritize animals that share more with us, it might decrease biodiversity on a whole other level. I may be taking this out of proportion, but I am curious to what your response is. Very interesting article!
I don’t think that closeness of relation should be the only factor of course. However, I do think that it should certainly be taken into consideration, not necessarily given priority, but understood how close they are to us. I think there should be some basic empathy there.
I think making the panda one of the symbols of the push to bring back some endangered species had some unintended side effects, such as taking some of the funding from other endangered species.
I think that this is definitely possible. Maybe it trivialized the cause as a whole
Interesting post. I think you indirectly explained why Panda’s created a lot more attention than the gorillas, because they are more exotic. Humans have a lot of similarities with gorillas (probably evolved from em), but thats the root of the problem. Because they are so similar to us we associate them with survival and don’t focus too much on how they may be struggling through extinction-like phases, whereas we notice the exotic panda right away and value its symbolic meaning in society because of its cute look. If you think of movies or media outputs involving animals, the only one off the top of my head involving any sort of gorilla is graffiki from lion king, however, society has come to love the rare animal we see in the popular series Kung fu Panda.
This is certainly an interesting theory. But shouldn’t their similarities to humans make us more attentive to their struggles?
I agree with your sentiment that there should be more focus on saving gorillas from extinction. However, most of your argument is based on the idea that they should receive priority because they are closer to humans. Is this really the goal of species preservation, or is the goal to maintain biodiversity?
I think that the ultimate goal is to maintain biodiversity but there is certainly some inherent value in the life of an intelligent creature.
I agree that there should be more of a harden focus on saving gorillas from becoming extinct. We also must think of other animals even though gorillas are similar to humans. Animals, no matter how similar they are to us, must be saved at all cost. Do you think that some animals should have priority over others when being saved from extinction?
Not necessarily, but we should be aware that our closer evolutionary cousins may not just be written off as any other animal. They are intelligent creatures.
This is really interesting to me because of how closely related these species are to humans. I feel as though these species should be thriving, what are the areas in which they need the most help?
Their main problem is the destruction of their habitats.