Gorilla Massacre in Congo...
I was just watching 60 minutes and the most heartbreaking story was on. The gorilla's in the Congo area are being massacred and the only reason is for charcol. In the Congo so many people use charcol to cook their food and this charcol is obtained by burning tree's that the gorilla's need to survive. Poacher's murder the gorilla's in horrible ways just so they are safely able to burn down their homes and habitats. In the Congo there are now less than 200 gorilla's. These poachers caused a civil war in the Congo and now the people who worked so hard to protect the gorilla's are not able to enter the forest without being shot at. The Silverback Gorilla's are harmless and gentle but they are being killed brutally and heartlessly. Here is a link to get more information on what is happening
http://www.honewatson.com/08/21/congo-gorilla-massacre/
That link was one of the first major massacres since then there have been many, many more.
13 Replies
This sounds like a real problem. People are expending their lives hunting gorrillas instead of hunting for a cure for cancer or solution for global warming. One question that I have is how do they use gorrillas for charcoal?
They don't use the gorilla's for the charcol, they use the tree's that they live in for charcol. They cut down the trees, cover them in mud, then burn them for days and days. It's just a pointless killing of gorilla's. To get the charcol they feel they have to kill these animals because they are a threat, well of course they are going to be a threat if you are cutting down their homes. They are actually sweet, gentle animals.
Hooray 60 Minutes..
Yeah, I saw this. I must watch anything that involves gorillas... I liked how the gorilla stared down Anderson Cooper for like five minutes.
It's really sad what's happening there. Like you said, they're such gentle, nice animals. They also really benefit the people there by providing a ton of tourism dollars which can be used to give the people in great poverty there food and water. They also provide numerous jobs for people there too. Something definitely needs to be done.
I think this could be a problem. But I don't really know how much it affects the world. It only affects one species of gorillas. I mean, I don't agree with it at all but I don't think this is a worldwide problem.
I think Amy was just posting this because it has to do with biology and it interested her...
And anyways, the dying off of species is definitely a major worldwide problem.
This particular subject may not be a world problem, but it reflects the way people in this world tend to think. They believe that since we are humans, at the top of the food chain, (for the most part), we automatically have authority over everything. And we don't. Those Gorillas obviously can't stand up and say how they really feel about this. They are defenseless. The people who are killing them are like big, tough bullies picking on someone half their size. It's simply not right.
Thanks for the post, Amy.
I agree that this is very cruel. No, it's not a worldwide problem, but it's harsh things like this that we humans think we can get away with. It's starting with gorillas, but who knows how it could end up? We could end up killing off vital food sources or even each other just because we are selfish enough to think we can get away with it and do whatever we want. Well, it's so wrong and we need to realize that we can't keep living the way we are, killing defenseless animals because we have the power to...
exactly.
thanks guys.
oh and my post about the environmental problem was on global warming, so if there's any confusion about thinking this was my post, it really isnt'.
Amy, I also saw this on 60 min. and I agree that this is a horrible thing. I think it is wrong to go arount killing the silverback gorilla's over charcol. Sure they may need it for food and other reasons but, the gorilla's use it to and I think that it is wrong of them to keep killing the gorilla's. Pretty soon the gorilla population will be very small.
pahs-TylerP wrote:
I think this could be a problem. But I don't really know how much it affects the world. It only affects one species of gorillas. I mean, I don't agree with it at all but I don't think this is a worldwide problem.
Well, it's not like gorillas are the only animals being hunted just for their habitat. Look around the world. I mean even fisherman are killing dolphins in China now. The fact of the matter is that this is just one case where a type of hunting is completely blown out of proportion and is used in the wrong ways.
this is really sad...just because you hold power doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. its definitely not right at all. I think its things like this that can add up to a world wide problem. and the sad thing is, there is not much the "younger" generation can do about it. people just assume so many things about us when really they have no idea...i think we need to prove ourselves and show how much power we actually have.
pahs-LaurenM wrote:
this is really sad...just because you hold power doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. its definitely not right at all. I think its things like this that can add up to a world wide problem. and the sad thing is, there is not much the "younger" generation can do about it. people just assume so many things about us when really they have no idea...i think we need to prove ourselves and show how much power we actually have.
I totally agree. We have so much power simply because the "younger" generation is the future of the world. That's more than the "older" generation has. Think about it...They can make some changes to the world but the fact that they will not be here when the environment is unbearable keeps them from doing anything. We have the power to change our future.
MasonS
Dec 9, 2007 at 9:10 PM