Can They Survive?

The survival of the great apes, like that of all wildlife, is a human issue. When the living standards of people improve, their ability to preserve the natural environment and the creatures in it also increases. The question is, given the slow reproductive rate of the apes, whether they will be decimated before conservation efforts can succeed.

One of the most important steps is protecting their forest homes. Many African and Asian countries have set aside land as national parks and nature preserves. Unfortunately, that strategy is not always simple. Protecting the land costs money and takes many dedicated people. Governments of poor countries are not eager to lock up natural resources, such as oil, gas, minerals, and timber, in national parks, when these areas could be exploited, at least in the short term, for profit. Developing nations must have economic incentives to set aside valuable land and protect its wildlife.

One such incentive, at least for gorillas and chimpanzees, is ecotourism (visiting rare and endangered species in their natural habitat). Dian Fossey felt the only way she could protect her gorillas was by threatening to shoot poachers. Today, ecotourism has dramatically reduced poaching of mountain gorillas. Tourists pay hundreds of dollars per hour to sit and watch a group of wild chimpanzees or gorillas. Revenue from such ecotourism goes mainly to the local government, giving it a strong economic incentive to protect the forest and its apes. Some ecotourism revenue also goes to local people, in the form of health clinics and dispensaries in villages near the forest.

Helping local people feel they have a stake in the future of the animals in their area goes a long way toward protecting them. Unfortunately, many of the countries where great apes live are not only poor but also politically unstable. Civil wars and terrorism can destroy a thriving tourist industry overnight. For example, in 1999, Rwandan rebels attacked an ecotourism center in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, taking 14 people hostage. Eight of the hostages were murdered, though the rest were released unharmed. Tourism plummeted for months as a result.

Ultimately, the fate of the great apes depends on the people of the nations where these magnificent and fascinating animals live. These days, as I work with scientists from African nations, I am impressed by their determination to save the natural heritage of their society, the apes with whom they share their land. We sit in tropical forests, watching gorillas and chimpanzees a few yards away as they go about their lives, unaware of the dangers they face from human beings. At the same time, only human beings can save them from extinction.