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Published: Sep 16, 2005 01:40 PM
Tue - July 29, 2003
Cellular Degradation: Phones Mean Death For The Great Apes
Miners seeking a metal used in cell
phones are killing the great apes in record numbers.
I
rely upon my cell phone extensively, but I never imagined that in doing so I was
contributing to the slaughter of some of our closest neighbors on the
evolutionary chain. In one of the saddest stories about technology's effects on
the environment that I've read in a long time, miners searching for a metal
known as coltan, which is used in cellular phones, have been slaughtering
eastern lowland gorillas in a national park designed to protect them in the the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In just three years, the already endangered
gorilla population has shrunk from 17,000 to less than
1,000.
There may be as many as 80,000 western lowland gorillas still found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea, according to the article. However, with more than 100 being killed by hunters each week, some experts predict that they could be extinct within 10 years.
For an excellent National Public Radio audio report on the problem, click here. To make a donation to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, follow this link.
There may be as many as 80,000 western lowland gorillas still found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea, according to the article. However, with more than 100 being killed by hunters each week, some experts predict that they could be extinct within 10 years.
For an excellent National Public Radio audio report on the problem, click here. To make a donation to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, follow this link.