Gorilla Extinction, a serious problem

[Selkie]

Taken from Yahoo:

"GENEVA - The most common type of gorilla is now "critically endangered," one step away from global extinction, according to the 2007 Red List of Threatened Species released Wednesday by the World Conservation Union.

The Ebola virus is depleting Western Gorilla populations to a point where it might become impossible for them to recover.

Commercial hunting, civil unrest and habitat loss due to logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations are compounding the problem, said the Swiss-based group known by its acronym IUCN.

"Great apes are our closest living relatives and very special creatures," Russ Mittermeier, head of IUCN's Primate Specialist Group, told The Associated Press. "We could fit all the remaining great apes in the world into two or three large football stadiums. There just aren't very many left.""


So, what are your thoughts on this?

I personally think extinction of any animal is extremely bad and we should try our hardest to preserve them. I mean, once they are gone, they are gone. A species that could lead to great lengths of evolution, or even help humans. Also the simple fact that they must be here for a reason, since they are here.

But Gorillas, that's a little bit more serious than mosquitos or something. Our closest ancestors, and one of the smartest animals next to humans, going extinct? That's bad.

So, what are your thoughs?