The Western Gorilla, the most common specie among the great apes, has been classified as ‘critically endangered’ by the World Conservation Union, a Swiss-based group more known by its initials IUCN, in its 2007 Red List of Threatened Species report released Wednesday, Sept. 12.

The primary reason for the decimation of the Western Gorilla is the Ebola virus. As much as 90 percent of gorillas have been killed off due to Ebola outbreaks, and only a few hundred animals are left. The rate of depletion is so rapid, that current populations are at a level where gorilla populations may never recover. If the decimation continues, the Western Gorilla could be gone in 10-12 years.

While the Ebola is the single biggest killer, commercial hunting or poaching is a very close second. Civil unrest is also a problem along with habitat loss resulting from commercial logging and clearing of the forests to make way for palm oil plantations.

The IUCN points out that the great apes are the closest living relatives of humans and are supposed to be special creatures. They laugh if you tickle them, cry when they suffer grief. They have concepts of their past and they make plans for their future. Now, that future is in jeopardy and they are one step away from extinction.

One expert believes if the gorillas are vaccinated using vaccines already available and if anti-poaching measures are put in place, this terminal decline may be halted. He estimates a few million dollars should be enough to reverse the tide. The funds just cannot be found.

The gorilla is only one of 236 animals and plants classified as critically endangered species this year. There are now 16,306 species on the brink of extinction. One in four mammals, 1 in 8 birds, one-third of all amphibians and 70 percent of plants out of more than forty thousand species studied are in extreme jeopardy.

Scientists and researchers have warned for many years about the critical danger faced by the gorillas, but little has been done.

“Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken,” warned the IUCN. But if the actions done in behalf of the gorilla are an indication, humans will not move fast enough to make a difference.

Among the 236 species listed this year, there are corals, 74 species of seaweed, the Yangtze river dolphin, and the red-headed vulture. Is there any chance left for these animals? As much as the Western Gorilla, the experts say.

The IUCN adds that all remaining gorillas in the world would fit comfortably into two, at most three, football stadiums.

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