Loss of Natural environment
Man cut off forest, clear bush / bush burning for agriculture, settlement mining and so on. Competition for limited natural resources such as firewood lead to varying degrees of deforestation. The only way to maintain gorilla habitat is to develop alternative economic activities that allow people to meet their daily needs. More so, the governments should tighten laws safe guarding environmental conservation, mass education, motivation of environmental conservationists and sharing profits from Gorilla tourism with the people around reserves among others.
Disease/ pests
Gorillas are closely related to humans and most of diseases which attack man also attack Gorillas. Such diseases include cholera, flu and so on. Because the gorillas have not developed the necessary immunities, first time exposure to an illness or virus that is relatively innocuous to humans may devastate an entire population. Gorillas live in small groups that may never recover from a sudden fall in numbers brought on by disease. Any human contact is potentially harmful, even life-threatening.
To that note, seven metre distance is recommended between Gorillas and man, but conservationists, scientists, rangers, poachers, militia groups and local communities also pose threats. Some gorillas have already affected by diseases like scabies and mange, or respiratory disease, which can quickly spread from one Gorilla family to another as they interact. Debris left behind in the park by refugees, poachers and the military is being cleared in order to minimize the contamination risk to wildlife, and a health education programme is helping to control the threat of disease.
Poaching / Gorilla killings
For the first twenty years after their discovery, European and American scientists and trophy hunters killed over 50 mountain gorillas. As food scarcity prevailed, people went ahead to kill Gorillas for meat. As a result of unselective hunting with snares, which are set to catch antelope, bush pigs and other wildlife but occasionally kill or injure gorillas. In the ’60s and ’70s gorillas were poached for sale to foreigners as trophies and captive specimens.
Political instability
Political unrest and civil wars between rival parties cost the lives of Gorilla. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has lost hundred of lowland and Mountain Gorillas to due constant unrest there. Many Gorillas are killed during the exchange of bullets.
Infrastructure development causing habitat loss and degradation, and possible disruption to mountain gorilla health and behavior are also an emerging threat, as well as a changing climate.
In general, weak institutional management structures, a feeling of disenfranchisement among local communities, and insufficient regional collaboration all pose serious challenges and a source of threats to the Gorillas.