The mountain gorilla, a strong, large ape that is mostly found on volcanic slopes in Africa. They only have a few predators, but have a population lower than most primates. Currently, the mountain gorilla has only protected national parks in two regions in Africa. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda is home to a group of gorillas. The second group of gorillas are spread out into three other national parks in the Dominican Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. They may look strong, but they are also very shy. If they have the sense that something is threatening them, they become aggressive. Beating their chests and letting out a roar show when they get angry. Mothers will fight and protect their young even if they have to sacrifice their own lives. Mountain gorillas tend to live in groups of 30 and have an older silverback alpha male in charge. Silverback males get their name from the silver stripe developed on their backs when they mature. In addition to protecting the other members of the group, silverbacks also decide the activities within the group and maintain order. They schedule feeding trips as a group, travel times, and sleeping hours. Due to habitat loss, hunting, war, and oil and gas exploration, their species population has reduced. Over 100,000 people live in private areas where mountain gorilla habitats are located. "In 2004, 1,500 hectares of prime mountain gorilla habitat were cleared by illegal settlers in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," according to evidence discovered by one of the World Wildlife Foundation's partners, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature. Many people from the Dominican Republic of Congo and Rwanda demolished areas of the national park, home to the endangered mountain gorillas, to create pastoral and agricultural land. While being hunted for their meat, mountain gorillas are also illegally hunted for trophies and living infants. There was a time when large numbers of Rwandan refugees fled to their camps located at the edge of the Virunga National Park. While this was all happening, the lives of 4 silverback gorillas were taken. Even worse, some of their group members were also killed that day. Furthermore, 7 gorillas were killed later in 2007. The war affected the mountain gorillas hugely because the continuation of people working and the presence of armed militia made the conservation work in the protected areas harder. Companies in Europe for oil and gas have been granted the ability to explore the Virunga National Park for oil and gas. This could cause a disruption in the park and negatively affect the animals.