Hidden high among the forested volcanoes of central Africa, the mountain gorilla was unknown to science until 1902, when two were first encountered by a German explorer -- and promptly killed.

A comprehensive new study finds that orangutan populations in Indonesian Borneo are being diminished at unsustainable rates due to conflict with humans. The results suggest orangutans outside protected areas may be headed toward extinction.

The enormous decline of large, apex predators and "consumers" ranging from wolves to lions, sharks and sea otters may represent the most powerful impacts humans have ever had on Earth's ecosystems, a group of 24 researchers concluded today in a new report in the journal Science.

The decline of such species around the world is much greater than previously understood and now affects many other ecological processes through what scientists call "trophic cascades," in which the loss of "top down" predation severely disrupts many other plant and animal species.

Does anyone know if there is a website or if I could make a website for people to donate, to help send me to Australia or other countries to do volunteer work? Its like 3-4 thousand for a two week to months trip depending on where you go.

Just a century ago, more than 1 million chimpanzees roamed the African forests. Today, scientists figure there are perhaps as few as 300,000 chimpanzees left.

Without concerted action, the possibility of zero chimpanzees in the wild – indeed, a world in which remaining forests and savannas are virtually empty – is all too real. As Jane Goodall says, “We must not let it happen.”

Time may be running out for orangutans living in the rainforests of Sumatra, it has been warned.

According to the Jakarta Post, the "auburn haired" creatures may be facing extinction as they can now only be found in the north of Sumatra and Aceh, areas which are both being hit by deforestation.

The name “orangutan” literally translates into English as “man of the forest”. It comes from Malay and Bahasa Indonesian orang (man) and hutan (forest).

Orangutans are extremely intelligent creatures who clearly have the ability to reason and think. Their similarity to us is uncanny. Baby orangutans cry when they’re hungry, whimper when they’re hurt and smile at their mothers. They express emotions just like we do: joy, fear, anger, surprise…. it’s all there. If you take a few minutes and watch an orangutan, you’ll swear they’re just like us. And they kind of are….

This month, conservationists in the Czech Republic and Kenya launchedan audacious bid to save one of the world's rarest animals: thenorthern white rhinoceros. Four of the last eight known northern whitesin the world, two male and two female, were packed into wooden cratesand sent from a Czech zoo to Kenya, where scientists hope they will getdown to the business of breeding.

The rhinos arrived at Nairobi's main airport at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 19. Hamish Currie prowled the tarmac directing trucks, tractors and a giant crane as the animals came off the 747.

Great Whites Could Go Extinct Before Tigers

Two of the world's most famous carnivores are now under the microscope for being perilously close to extinction. One of them, the tiger, has gotten plenty of PR recently, along with the frightening revelation that the entire species could be on the brink of being wiped out. But it turns out that the Great White shark may be even more endangered. With only a few thousand left in the wild, and an icier public opinion towards them, the fearsome Great White could well go extinct in coming years.

The Great White Plight

According to the Guardian, a recent survey completed as a part of the Census for Marine Life, has found that there are only some 3,500 individual Great Whites left in the wild--around the same number of tigers that conservationists believe are left. And shark populations are plummeting around the world--the Great White being no exception. The sharks are being killed from collisions with shipping vessels and from overfishing.

By Matthew Cimitile, Amanda Demopoulos, and Christina Kellogg

Above: Some of the team members from the third 2009 DISCOVRE cruise. The science crew contains an interdisciplinary group of researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Kneeling (left to right): Michele Grinar, Andrea Quattrini, Christina Kellogg, Amanda Demopoulos, Furu Mienis, Martha Nizinski, and Kaitlin Kovacs. Standing (left to right): Adela Roa-Varon, Sandra Brooke, Cheryl Morrison, Lorendz Boom, Steve Ross, Jennie McClain, Cheryl Lewis Ames, Tara Casazza, and Mike Rhode. Photograph courtesy of USGS DISCOVRE.

Research cruises exploring the seafloor of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are opening up a new world of organisms and ecosystems to scientists as researchers descend into uncharted territory hundreds of meters below the sea surface. Several U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are co-leading a team of researchers from around the United States and Europe seeking to characterize deep-coral ecosystems and the abundance of organisms that live in and around them. Their research is shining a light on some of the darkest and least explored places on the planet.