Final answer:
The specific purpose statement 'To inform my audience of the reasons for the near extinction of mountain gorillas' is indicative of an Informative speech, which focuses on enlightening the audience about a topic without persuading or entertaining.
Step-by-step explanation:
The specific purpose statement given, 'To inform my audience of the reasons for the near extinction of mountain gorillas', corresponds to an Informative speech. An Informative speech aims to explain, describe, or demonstrate a particular topic to enhance the audience's understanding without trying to persuade or entertain them. This type of speech is packed with factual information like statistics, case studies, and substantiated information, ensuring that the audience gains new knowledge or understands a subject better.
A Persuasive speech, on the other hand, seeks to convince the audience to adopt a specific viewpoint or change their beliefs or behavior. While an Entertaining speech is typically light-hearted and aims primarily to amuse listeners. Lastly, a Demonstrative speech is essentially informational but with a focus on showing how to do something step by step.