Nairobi, April 20 -- High demand for critical minerals to power green energy is driving an alarming threat to Africa's great ape population, with over one-third of these majestic creatures at risk due to mining activities, a recent study, says.

The study published in Science Advances was led by teams from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and conservation organisation Re:wild. It estimates that more than one-third of the entire ape population - nearly 180,000 gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees - is at risk.

"These minerals are essential for the transition to cleaner energy, but then they are leading to increased deforestation of tropical rainforests where the apes r...