研究报告表明极度濒危的格劳尔大猩猩数量开始了令人难以置信的回暖
- Oct 21, 2021
- 4 min read
作者：Good News Network
出处：goodnewsnetwork
译者：Tom Wang
一项新研究估计了格劳尔大猩猩（世界上最大的大猩猩亚种）的全球种群数量，并为一直在拯救这种极度濒危动物的护林员、非营利组织和看护者带来了了好消息。
与之前全球估计的 3,800 只相比，这一数字几乎翻了一番，达到 6,800 只。
这一估计来自最近在该动物最大的剩余据点之一 — —刚果（金）东部进行的实地调查，该区域在此前无法进行调查。
在野生动物保护协会 (WCS) 的领导下，研究结果发表在《美国灵长类动物学杂志》上。
2016 年由 WCS 领导的一篇同行评审论文表明，自 1990 年代中期进行的上一次范围广泛的调查以来，这些大猩猩的数量下降了近 80%。然而，由于该地区不安全，2016 年的估计并未包括格劳尔大猩猩范围内所有地区的数据。
2021 年的数量估计包括对欧库森林的新实地调查，它表明数量下降并不像以前担心的那么大。这些发现也为保护格劳尔大猩猩带来了希望，因为过去 20 年来，卡胡兹-别加国家公园高地地区的人口也保持相对稳定。
“这是对参与该研究的刚果生物学家的勇气和奉献精神的致敬，”该研究的主要作者、国际鸟盟主办的关键生物多样性区域秘书处 Andrew Plumptre 博士说，他与 WCS 进行了这项研究。
此外，黑猩猩种群也有好消息，它们的数量在过去二十年中也一直保持稳定。
Plumptre 说：“我们表明，大猩猩和黑猩猩正在避开人们开采矿物的地区，这是导致该地区不安全的风险之一。”
格劳尔大猩猩 (Gorilla beringei graueri) 是东部大猩猩的一个亚种，仅在刚果（金）东部发现，体重超过 450 磅（204 公斤）。
作者表示，研究结果强调了该地区良好森林保护的重要性。 2018 年，创建了三个当地社区森林特许权，总面积为 1,465 平方公里（565 平方英里），并归属于欧库森林的社区管理。
此外，WCS 正与这些社区、政府的自然保护局、ICCN 和当地动物保护组织 Reserve des Gorilles de Punia (RGPu) 合作，他们将在在欧库森林中创建一个额外的野生动物保护区，以保护多达 3,000 平方公里（1,158英里）的森林，适合该地区的大猩猩和其他动植物群。
世界上超过 80% 的钶钽铁矿供应（用于许多电子设备）位于格劳尔大猩猩以前的大部分栖息地：刚果（金）。现在保护工作的重点必须是支持当地社区对欧库森林的管理，以保护大猩猩及其栖息地。
原文：
A new study estimated the global population of Grauer’s gorillas—the world’s largest gorilla subspecies–and it reported good news for rangers, nonprofits, and caretakers who have been saving this Critically Endangered animal.
From a previous global estimate of 3,800 individuals, the number has almost doubled to 6,800 individuals.
This revised estimate comes from recent field surveys conducted in one of this animal’s largest remaining strongholds, an area that was previously inaccessible for surveys in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), results were published in the American Journal of Primatology.
A previous peer-reviewed paper led by WCS in 2016 showed a decline of almost 80 percent in the population of these gorillas since the last range-wide survey carried out in the mid-1990s. However, due to insecurity in the region, the 2016 estimate did not include data from all areas of the Grauer’s gorilla range.
The 2021 population estimate includes new field surveys in the Oku forests and suggest declines were not as great as previously feared. The findings also provide hope for the conservation of Grauer’s gorilla, as populations in the highland sectors of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park have also remained relatively stable over the past 20 years..
“It is a tribute to the courage and dedication of the Congolese biologists who took part,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Andrew Plumptre, Key Biodiversity Area Secretariat hosted by Birdlife International, who conducted the research with WCS.
Additionally, there is good news for chimpanzee populations, which have also held steady over the past twenty years.
“We show that gorillas and chimpanzees are avoiding areas where people are extracting minerals, an occupation that contributes to the insecurity in the region,” said Plumptre.
Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) are a subspecies of eastern gorilla found only in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and can weigh over 450 pounds (204 kilograms).
The authors say that the results of the study underscore the importance of good forest protection in the region. In 2018, three local community forest concessions comprising a total area of 1,465 square kilometers (565 square miles) were created and attributed to community management in Oku.
Additionally, WCS is working with these communities, the Government’s Nature Conservation Agency, ICCN, and the local NGO Reserve des Gorilles de Punia (RGPu), to create an additional Wildlife Reserve in the Oku forests to secure up to 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of forest for gorillas and other flora and fauna in this area.
More than 80 percent of the world’s supply of coltan—used in many electronic devices—is found in the DRC, including much of the Grauer’s gorilla’s prior habitat. The focus of conservation efforts must now be on supporting local community management of the Oku forests to protect gorillas and their habitats.
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