DRC: 'Catastrophic' Decline in Eastern Lowland Gorilla Blamed on Mining for Minerals Used in Mobile Phones

Oct 20, 2016 | Aislinn Laing, Telegraph
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The Eastern lowland gorilla, the world's greatest ape, has suffered a "catastrophic decline" in the restive Democratic Republic of Congo, blamed on mining for minerals used in mobile phones. Scientists said the numbers in the wild have dwindled three quarters in 20 years, to just 3,800 from 17,000 before civil war first broke out in 1996, and fear that without rapid intervention, the majestic creatures could disappear altogether in the next five years.