Gorillas share 97.7 per cent of their DNA with us - slightly less than chimpanzees and bonobos. Gentle and highly social, gorillas are suffering on many counts, mostly because of habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade.

At a glance
The Congo Basin - a hotspot for western lowland gorillas - loses an area of virgin rainforest the size of Belgium every year. Logging companies come in to harvest valuable, slow-growing hardwood. They build roads deep into remote areas where animals have never seen humans before. Once there, loggers chop down trees that are hundreds of years old. The root cause for this habitat destruction is the high demand for hardwood from nations such the USA, Japan and western Europe.

What is the threat?
Opening up the ancient forests makes it easier for the bushmeat trade to flourish. Between one and five million tonnes of wild animals are killed for food in the Congo Basin each year. Gorillas are being killed for their meat faster than they can reproduce.

‘In some cases, poachers are poor people who need the protein to survive. But more and more, the carcasses are sold to cities where bushmeat is deemed a ‘gourmet’ food. Chimpanzees, monkeys, okapi and gorillas are all popular ingredients for the pot.’

Ebola - a potentially lethal disease with no vaccine available - is also epidemic in gorillas and chimpanzees, and might spread to humans during the butchering process. New roads provide an easy route for the spread of lethal diseases. It is estimated that the number of western lowland gorillas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo has been halved since the 1980s due to ebola outbreaks.

What are charities doing to help?
The Zoological Society of London’s Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programme funds a series of field projects, research and education activities:

ZSL’s Mikongo Conservation Centre in Gabon's Lope National Park, aims to conserve western lowland gorillas and their rainforest ecosystem by developing ecotourism. Training eco-guides and trackers builds the skills of local people. Community outreach means that local villagers are involved in the decision-making and can benefit financially from tourism to ensure that gorillas are more valuable alive than dead.

The Cameroon Wildlife Aid Foundation (CWAF) is a sanctuary for gorillas and chimpanzees orphaned by poaching for bushmeat. CWAF cares for traumatised babies, which is a full-time commitment. Gorillas rely very heavily on the emotional support of a family. At the moment it is difficult to rehabilitate them. CWAF tries hard to emulate the gorillas’ complex social lives. The long-term aim is to reintroduce orphans to the wild if safe areas can be found. CWAF also has a strong education programme that aims to highlight the issues of the bushmeat trade and its effect on gorillas and other primates.

What can I do?
Try to avoid buying hardwood furniture or timber. Mahogany, ebony, ipe and sapele are all popular, slow-growing species from Africa. Much of the gorilla’s predicament is caused by the worldwide demand for hardwood. If you must buy hardwood, choose FSC-certified products, which proves they come from sustainably managed rainforests.

You can also help by donating to the BBC Wildlife Fund.

Did you know?

• Male gorillas develop silver hairs on their back when they are around 12 years old. The silverback is the largest living primate, with the strength of several men.
• The gorilla is the most sexually dimorphic ape, with an adult male being twice the weight of a female.
• Gorillas build a nest every night to sleep in and a day-nest for their midday rest.
• A gorilla has up to 22 vocalisations such as grunts, laughs, hoots, barks and screams, each with its own specific meaning.
  

To learn more about the western lowland gorilla visit www.cwaf.org, www.zsl.org and www.fsc.org.