Myombe Reserve
mercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates
“a recipe for rapid ecological extinction.”.
An ape habitat featuring gorillas and chimpanzees in a natural setting. This exhibit is magnifiConservation efforts include the Great Apes Surcent even at this time of the year when it is coolvival Project, a partnership between the United
er, because the animals are all outside enjoying
Nations Environment Programme and the UNEthe reserve.
SCO, and also an international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their
This is an oasis where they are protected. Even
Habitats, concluded under UNEP-administered
considering that they are in captivity, is is better
Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilthan being exposed to the dangers of the Jungle,
la Agreement is the first legally binding instruwith poachers, climate desasters and devastatment exclusively targeting gorilla conservation;
ing deseases. Gorillas must be protected in any
it came into effect on 1 June 2008.
way we can, they are special creatures that proIn a cooperative effort with other AZA (Ameritect each other and and still find a way to concan Zoo and Aquarium Association) institutions,
nect with humans. They are the largest primate
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay closely manages goby size and only eat leaves, herbs giving them the
rilla populations through a program called the
classification of herbivorous.
Species Survival Plan (SSP), which works to improve the genetic diversity of managed animal
Their original habitat are the forests of Central
populations.
Africa and carry a DNA that is the clorest from
humans of all apes.
The eastern gorilla is listed as endangered on the
IUCN Red List, with the mountain gorilla listed
as Critically Endangered.
The western gorilla and its subspecies are also
listed as Critically Endangered.Threats to gorilla
survival include habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade. In 2004, a population
of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped
out by the Ebola virus.
A 2006 study published in Science concluded
more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent
outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The
researchers indicated in conjunction with com-