![]() ![]() ![]() This tool will facilitate their relocation to a sanctuary close to their provenance, increasing the chances of successful reintroduction into their native groups. The mission is to create the first genomic atlas of gorillas in all countries and national parks so that future gorillas taken from the wild can be sequenced and matched to their population of origin. Currently, there is no reliable molecular test to genotype confiscated gorillas, and there is no method to identify a gorilla’s population of origin. Today, Magdalena is partnering with Tomas Marques-Bonet, the head of the Comparative Genomics group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, and the Illumina iConserve program to map the genetic variability of gorilla populations across their habitat range. Identifying a gorilla’s population of origin Understanding a gorilla’s population of origin to potentially return them to the wild is critical to their survival. Infant gorillas, especially, are susceptible to stress and disease. ![]() Gorillas have highly structured social behaviors and often die when forced to live with new groups. This, in turn, means disastrous consequences to the regions’ biodiversity.įor gorillas that are rescued from poachers and placed randomly in sanctuaries, the results can also be devastating. Because so many die or are killed during the capture of just one individual, an extrapolation estimates that as many as 22,218 great apes were lost between 20. However, UNESCO and UNEP believe the number of animals that disappear is actually far greater than what is being recorded. Between 20, more than 1,808 chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans were documented to have been captured from the wild for illegal trade. According to UNESCO and UNEP’s report, Stolen Apes: The Illicit Trade in Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos and Orangutans, at least 98 gorillas were taken from the wild in a six-year time period. In West and Central Africa, organized criminal networks capture or kill the apes and export them illegally for consumption, private zoos, and trophies. Illegal trafficking continues despite international protection laws. However, poaching, habitat destruction, and disease are threatening their survival. Instead of being protective of data, we must cooperate for the larger purpose of conservation.”Ĭlassified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), approximately 360,000 western lowland gorillas remain in the wild. “It’s better to collaborate between institutions, rather than compete. She believes in a multi-disciplinary approach when it comes to protecting species, bringing together scientists, academics, environmentalists, local residents, even politicians-all the people in her extensive network. “It is very important for science and for conservation to join primatologists in the field with geneticists in the lab,” says Magdalena. ![]()
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