Habitat Loss

The three greatest threats to the continued existence of chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos in Africa are habitat loss, hunting for meat, and the shooting of mothers to take their infants for the live animal trade. In the past many young chimps were exported for entertainment or biomedical research in the United States and other countries. Increased legislative restrictions and penalties have reduced the export of young chimpanzees, but the threat has by no means vanished.

Habitat loss is linked to the ever-increasing demands for land by the exploding human population. Africa currently has one of the highest growth rates in the world, with its population doubling every 24 years. The total population of the continent in 1990 was approximately 600 million people, leading to a greater demand upon the natural resources. Wood is cut for firewood, charcoal, and building poles. Forests are clear-cut for living space, crop growing, grazing for domestic livestock. Forest concessions are sold to timber companies from the developed world, some of which practice clear cutting, turning forestland into desert. Unless we can find some way to slow down population growth - to voluntarily optimize the population - the stresses and strains on the natural resources will be too great to bear. Deforestation drives the chimpanzee species toward extinction. Many populations have become fragmented. Very small relict groups will not be viable once they are cut off from other groups and no longer able to exchange genetic material.