Gorillas are large, quiet, gentle apes that can be found in Africa. Although gorillas are sometimes portrayed as out of control, they are in fact vegetarians. Because of unbelievable reduction in habitat, these beautiful primates are in great danger of going extinct.
There are 3 subspecies of gorillas living in parts of Africa. The differences between them are hard to spot, the 3 subspecies are.
· Western Lowland Gorilla (gorilla gorilla)
· Eastern Lowland Gorilla (gorilla graueri)
· Mountain Gorilla (gorilla berengei)
As with many differences between animal species the differences between the mountain and lowland gorilla are the result of their changing to the surroundings they live in, the high altitude of the mountain gorilla necessitate longer body hair for added warmth, higher foreheads, larger nostrils to aid more effective breathing at high altitudes, broader chests to enclose the larger lungs, they also have shorter arms, shorter, wider hands and feet possibly as a result there being less dense forest at the higher altitude.
Extensive efforts have been made to attempt to ensure the continued survival of the gorilla in the wild but the loss of habitat and poaching is a cause of grave concern, gorilla numbers are only approximate but the 3 species have only 15,000 - 30,000 animals left.
The breakdown between species is along the lines of
Western gorillas- A total of approximately 10,000-25,000 in Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, and Zaire .
Eastern gorillas - A total of approximately 4,000, in eastern Zaire.
Mountain gorillas - A total of approximately 620 in 285, and in danger of becoming less, square miles in the rain forests of Rwanda, Uganda and Zaire.
Gorillas are social animals in as much as they live in social groups of 3-30, in a typical group you will find one dominant mature silverback and he is the alpha male of the group, there are 3-4 adult females, an immature silverback, one immature male and three to six youngsters under 8 years old.
To reduce fighting within the group the males usually leave after sexual maturity and start their own group, although from time to time a challenge is made to the silverback alpha male for dominance of the group, this can lead to one of the gorillas being forced out of the group.
The gorillas only predator is us, this should be good news as you would think that we would say to ourselves lets protect these amazing animals and help them survive but the problem is we are destroying the habitat they are living in and poachers are destroying them too.
Some dedicated groups are attempting to help halt this, money is the main driver behind the clearance of the habitats, so using the land for echo tourism is a great way to convince the local people to preserve the land and animals that live on it.
What eco tourism aims to do is allow people to see the gorillas and other animals in their own habitat and educate and inspire these people to spread the word about the amazing experience and the danger these gorillas are in.
Sean Cravenplan works with Volcanoes safaris, we specialise in organising gorilla safaris great trips you will remember forever.
