Gorillas are the world’s largest primates. They are only found in East, Central, and West Africa and are divided into two species: Eastern gorillas and Western gorillas. Eastern gorillas are further divided into mountain gorillas and eastern lowland gorillas, while Western gorillas are divided into western lowland gorillas and cross-river gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are an endangered subspecies of Eastern gorillas. They live in the Virunga Mountains, which stretch across Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
According to IUCN, mountain gorillas are endangered, with only about 1,004 individuals left in the wild. They cannot survive in zoos for long, which makes protecting their natural habitat very important.
The population of mountain gorillas has been reducing for many years due to poaching, habitat loss, and natural disasters. However, conservation efforts in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo have helped their numbers to slowly increase.
Mountain gorillas live in families of 5 to 30 members or more. They are led by an alpha male known as a silverback, usually the oldest and strongest male in the group. The silverback makes decisions on where the group eats and rests, has access to all the females, and protects the family from danger, even at the cost of his life.
Although they are generally calm and gentle, gorillas can become aggressive if they feel threatened. They are also very intelligent and communicate through different sounds, facial expressions, and gestures. They have been observed using sticks to collect termites, measure water depth, and using logs to cross flooded areas.
Gorillas begin foraging around 6 am, rest at midday, and continue feeding until evening. Males can eat up to 30 kilograms of vegetation daily, while females eat up to 18 kilograms. Their diet includes fruits, leaves, bamboo shoots, stems, bark, and sometimes insects, ants, and termites. They rarely drink water because most of their food contains enough moisture.
Mountain gorillas have a low birth rate, producing only 2 to 6 young ones in their lifetime. Females reach sexual maturity earlier than males and are fertile for only two days each month. Pregnancy lasts about eight and a half months.
Baby gorillas are very vulnerable at birth. They depend entirely on their mothers, feeding on breast milk and clinging to the mother’s belly or back. They also share nests with their mothers until about four years old, when they start making their own, usually close to their mothers.
Gorillas build new nests every evening using leaves and branches, even if the previous nest is nearby. Sometimes they make nests in trees, especially if it rained. Interestingly, gorillas seem to fear caterpillars and chameleons. While baby gorillas love to play with crawling insects, they always avoid these two creatures.
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