Mountain gorillas are among the world’s most fascinating species. An encounter with these big apes is regarded as one of the best wildlife encounters since they resemble and organize themselves like people. Mountain gorillas are one of four species of gorillas in Africa. The remaining three are the Cross River gorilla, the Western lowland gorilla, and the Grauer’s gorilla (Eastern lowland gorilla).
Mountain gorillas live in only three countries:
Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda has the most mountain gorillas, which may be found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. Male mountain gorillas can be found in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas they have distinctive thick black fur that distinguishes them from the brownish western and eastern lowland gorillas.
They also have shorter arms than their lowland counterparts do. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified mountain gorillas as threatened, with only 1,000 remaining in the wild. As a result, gorilla tourism has grown extremely popular. It is the only reliable method of raising funding for gorilla conservation in developing nations.
Today, we will cover several crucial key facts concerning mountain gorillas, some of which have already been mentioned:
1) Mountain gorillas are only found in three nations.
As previously stated, gorillas can only be seen in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas inhabit harsher environments. Conditions and habitats differ from those of their lowland counterparts.
They reside at high altitudes of 4,500 meters. Mountain gorilla tracking is a thrilling sport that takes you to some of Africa’s most dense woods to find these gorgeous creatures. The exercise begins early in the morning with a briefing for the participants. Following the briefing, Rangers and Guides lead the participants through dense foliage, plains, streams, and valleys in search of a specific gorilla population.
The activity can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours, depending on where the group is on any given day. Visitors are only allowed to spend an hour with the group once they have been located. This is to prevent the spread of human diseases and agitation among primates. The one hour is ideal for observing the family and taking photographs. By the end of the hour, you will have discovered that they behave similarly to people.
2 – Mountain gorillas are endangered, yet the only species with a growing population.
Western Lowland Gorilla
Mountain gorillas are the most endangered of the three gorilla subspecies, according to available evidence. However, it is crucial to highlight that, while there are presently 1000 people, the number is growing every year. There are approximately 200,000 Western Lowland gorillas in the wild, while lowland gorillas number less than 7,000. These data appear to be excellent news, yet their numbers are declining at an Alarming rate. The greatest threat to mountain gorillas comes from humans and their activities. Humans dwell in places where mountain gorillas live, and due to population growth, they are obliged to remove trees to make more room for towns, leaving mountain gorillas to live on forest islands.
These woodland group of mountain gorilla islands make it harder for gorillas to spread their genes to neighboring populations. In some nations, traditional witch -doctors seek out mountain gorilla body pieces to make charms. Mountain gorillas are also hunted for their meat, as trophies, and for sale to wildlife traffickers.
Some local hunters will kill a silverback gorilla to demonstrate power without considering the impact on the overall gorilla population. Same hunters Mountain gorillas are killed accidentally when they become trapped in snares built for other animals. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ongoing wars and civil upheaval have made gorilla conservation extremely difficult; it is no surprise that the country has the fewest mountain gorillas despite having Africa’s oldest national park.
The finding of oil in the Virunga National Park is now viewed as a potential threat to the survival of mountain gorillas in Congo. Oil wells would not only destroy forests, but they would also bring humans into close contact with gorillas, exposing them to diseases such as pneumonia, Ebola, and flu. Gorillas are less resistant to human diseases. For this reason, unwell people are not permitted to participate in gorilla trekking.
3) Mountain gorillas are highly intelligent and similar to humans.
Mountain gorillas, although walking on four legs and having fur, are relatives of humans. They share 98% of human DNA and can use a variety of tools, including cleaning out termites. Mountain gorillas, like people, have a unique identification. Each mountain gorilla’s nose has a distinct design. Mountain gorillas, like humans, live in family groups consisting of a male, other males, females, juveniles, and newborns.
Observing how members of a gorilla troop interact reminds us of ourselves.The mountain gorilla troop is commanded by a dominant silverback who will defend it to the death.As previously said, mountain gorillas live. The mountain gorilla troop is commanded by a dominant silverback who will defend it to the death.
As previously said, mountain gorillas live Social groups might range from two to forty people. The majority of female and males born in the group eventually leave to create their own groups or join others (females). Mountain gorillas are led by a dominating silverback who controls all group activities. He decides when and where to travel next. A silverback is ten times as strong as an adult human.
They will spend their mornings and evenings nursing. Midday is for resting, napping, playing, and grooming. They begin to build their night nests out of twigs and leaves when it grows darker outside. If attacked by humans, leopards, or other silverbacks, the silverback will defend the group till death. However, this drastic technique is only the last resort after trying. To intimidate or scare away an invader.
5 – A mountain gorilla troop may include more than one silverback.
Although each group has a prominent silverback, 40% of the groups contain several silverbacks. When this happens, the silverbacks form a hierarchy, with the dominant male as the undisputed leader.
Male gorillas do not always quit the group, unlike females. They will stay with the group and remain subservient to the alpha male (usually their father or brother), hoping to inherit dominance. Some will choose to quit the family and go it alone, while others will try to woo females away from larger groups in order to create their own family.
When there are multiple males in a group, all they all share the task of defending the group. The dominant silverback produces the majority of the offspring, but the subordinates will have a few of their own.
6- Mountain gorillas sleep and spend the majority of their time on the ground. Primates are widely believed to like to stay on top of trees. While this may be true for the majority of primates, mountain gorillas are an exception. Adult mountain gorillas are too heavy to consistently climb trees. They will only do so if they need to gather ripe fruits from a tree that can bear their weight. Even so, they do this infrequently. Young people are more likely to climb small, robust trees. This is because they are not as heavy as the adults are.
7) Mountain gorillas are incredibly gentle.
One widespread stereotype (from the King Kong films) regarding gorillas in general is that they are vicious creatures who will hurt anyone if given the opportunity. This is far from the reality, as gorillas are among the most friendly and calm creatures you will ever meet. They live in peaceful, structured groups and rarely attack unless threatened.
They differ greatly from chimpanzees, who are quite violent and may hunt other smaller primates or antelopes for meat if the opportunity presents itself. Charging by a gorilla is quite rare. Even when agitated, gorillas would initially try to show their disapproval to an intruder. Only when their displeasure is ignored do gorillas become hostile.
8. Mountain gorillas do not eat meat.
A mountain gorilla’s diet consists primarily of leaves, flowers, tree bark, stems, roots, and ants. A silverback may consume 18 kg of vegetation every day to support its large size. Because of the chilly circumstances, they have sufficient to eat, but there is a noticeable lack of variety compared to their lowland cousins because they graze mostly on leaves and tree barks, their diet is heavy in tannin. These are the same chemicals and compounds that contribute to the bitterness of our coffee