Mountain gorillas are one of the most interesting wildlife species in Africa, with many visitors having them on their bucket list but know little or nothing about them. Would you like to learn more about the mountain gorilla? Simply delve into this article for more exciting facts about them;
A closer look at a giant male silverback mountain gorilla, which makes it interesting to learn more about the mountain gorilla
Scientifically known as “Gorilla Beringei Beringei”, the mountain gorillas are a sub-species of the Eastern gorilla. These Great Apes are categorized as “endangered” under the IUCN Red List and their World Population currently stands at about 1,063 individuals (according to the last Mountain Gorilla Census in 2018).
Mountain gorilla populations are distributed in two geographical locations, with a bit more than half being in the Virunga Mountains (a spectacular range of extinct mountains that stretch across the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda). The other population of these Giant Apes lives in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda. Like their name, these primates occupy forests that are high in the mountains at altitudes of 2500 to 4000 meters above sea level.
Mountain gorillas are characterized by thicker fur (compared to other gorilla sub-species), and this is a special adaptation to live in their cold natural habitats high in the mountains. The longer and thicker fur makes it possible for them to survive in these areas where temperatures drop below freezing. However, as human encroachment into their natural habitat keeps getting worse, these Great Apes have been pushed deeper and deeper into the mountains for a long period hence making them to endure harsh and life-threatening conditions.
Physically, these Great Apes are four to five and a half feet tall when standing on two feet. A matured male mountain gorilla is between 265 and 420 pounds while a mature female mountain gorilla is between 154 and 216 pounds. This makes them smaller than their counterparts (the eastern lowland gorillas) in the same species. Besides weight, do you know another way to differentiate between adult females and males? The latter have more pronounced bony crests on the top and back of their skulls thus giving their heads a more conical shape. This doesn’t mean that females don’t have the crests. The only difference is that theirs are less pronounced.
Regardless of their weight, mountain gorillas are generally gentle and shy (not as aggressive as they are usually portrayed). However, cases of aggression are exhibited when two gorilla families encounter each other, sometimes resulting in two silverbacks engaging in fights with their canines thus causing deep and life-threatening injuries.
More interesting facts about the mountain gorilla
These Great Apes are primarily terrestrial and quadrupedal, although they sometimes climb fruiting trees, on the condition that the branches can handle their weight. These primates like most Great Apes (except humans of course) have longer arms and move by knuckle-walking.
Being diurnal, mountain gorillas spend the largest part of their day foraging on huge quantities of vegetation to sustain their heavy weight. They start eating early in the morning, take time to rest during late morning and about midday, then continue eating in the afternoon until evening when they retire for the day. It is a norm for every gorilla in the family to build a nest by collecting vegetation from the surroundings to sleep in, and a new one has to be built every evening. The only individuals that share nests are infants who sleep in the same nests as their mothers.
These Great Apes are social creatures that live in relatively stable and strong groups (known as families) that have strong bonds between adult females (silverbacks) and adult females. Being non-territorial, the dominant male must defend his family instead of an entire territory. The average tenure of the dominant male is 4.5 years, after which another male takes over the leadership of the family. It will interest you to know that more than 50% of gorilla families have one adult male and several females, and other members include blackbacks, juveniles, and infants. Mountain gorilla families usually have 5 to 30 members, although the average number is 10 individuals.
These herbivorous Giant Apes mainly feed on leaves, stems, and shoots of at least 142 plant species, in addition to barks, fruits, flowers, and small invertebrates. In a single day, an adult male mountain gorilla can consume up to 19 kilograms of food while females about 15 kilograms of vegetation each day.
Interestingly, mountain gorillas are closely related to humans because they share 98.2% of their DNA with mankind. This means that the exposure of these Giant Apes to human diseases especially colds, coughs, flu, measles, and even Tuberculosis can be very detrimental to their health and existence thus great efforts are required to protect them.
Mountain gorillas have over 16 kinds of calls/vocalization which include short barks that are used when alarmed or curious, roars, or hoots to intimidate their rivals. Adult males also beat their chests and strut with stiff legs to scare away their enemies.