Tutin C E
Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Gabon.
Reprod Fertil Dev. 2001;13(7-8):469-76. doi: 10.1071/rd01092.
The forests of the Congo Basin in equatorial Africa are home to significant populations of gorillas and chimpanzees. However, numbers are declining owing to hunting and to alteration of their habitat. Gorillas and chimpanzees are particularly vulnerable for biological reasons: slow reproduction, prolonged developmental periods and complex social behaviour. In addition, their capacity to recover from disturbance is limited and the reinforcement of wild populations with captive-born individuals is rarely an option. Compared with the critically endangered mountain gorillas and the beleaguered chimpanzees in forest fragments in West Africa, there are some reasons for optimism about the future of the Congo Basin apes: levels of threat remain relatively low; and conservation of tropical rainforests has become a priority of the international community. At the same time, knowledge of the ecological needs of wild apes has increased and non-invasive techniques now exist to monitor population health. Sadly, no animals remain truly 'wild', as their survival depends to a greater or lesser extent on management. Protected areas and laws that forbid hunting of vulnerable species are classic tools of management, but broader landscape visions are now emerging that may allow the Congo Basin to avoid the fragile scenario of larger animals persisting only in 'island' parks.
赤道非洲刚果盆地的森林是大量大猩猩和黑猩猩的家园。然而，由于捕猎和栖息地的改变，它们的数量正在减少。大猩猩和黑猩猩由于生物学原因特别脆弱：繁殖缓慢、发育周期长且社会行为复杂。此外，它们从干扰中恢复的能力有限，用圈养出生的个体来增加野生种群数量很少是一种选择。与极度濒危的山地大猩猩和西非森林碎片中处境艰难的黑猩猩相比，刚果盆地猿类的未来有一些乐观的理由：威胁程度仍然相对较低；热带雨林的保护已成为国际社会的一个优先事项。与此同时，对野生猿类生态需求的了解有所增加，现在有了非侵入性技术来监测种群健康。遗憾的是，没有动物仍然真正“野生”，因为它们的生存或多或少依赖于管理。保护区和禁止捕猎濒危物种的法律是经典的管理手段，但现在正在出现更广泛的景观愿景，这可能使刚果盆地避免大型动物仅在“岛屿”公园中存续的脆弱局面。
