Gorillas massacred and driven to extinction - all for the sake of our mobile phones

[TomSea]

Gorillas massacred and driven to extinction - all for the sake of our mobile phones
The animals are being poached for bushmeat by militia groups and miners digging for an ore called coltan used in mobile phones

Watching these magnificent gorillas from feet away, it is hard to believe they are being slaughtered in vast numbers because of mobile phones and games consoles.

The animals are being poached for bushmeat by militia groups and miners digging for an ore called coltan.

It contains tantalum, used to make capacitors in modern electronic devices.

Much of the globe’s coltan is mined here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Continued: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/gorillas-massacred-driven-extinction-sake-9747764?service=responsive

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

[Cripplecreek]

I don't believe there have ever been "Vast numbers" or gorrillas. However that is what makes it easy to wipe them out.

I doubt there were ever more than a few 10s of thousands of gorrillas at most.

[Oceander]

What drivel.  They aren't being killed because of my phone, they're being killed because the mining companies aren't adequately feeding their crews.  Go after that angle, not my phone. 

[TomSea]

It looks like this has actually been in the news for a long time. Keywords, Michael Nest and "Coltan".

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151213/technology/Blood-on-our-hands.595655

[Sanguine]

What drivel.  They aren't being killed because of my phone, they're being killed because the mining companies aren't adequately feeding their crews.  Go after that angle, not my phone.

Yeah, I wondered: "Gorillas got tantalum?"  And, the answer is no, they don't.