Everything you need to know about mountain gorillas: Mountain gorillas are very charming animal species that live an elusive life. Not many tourists get to trek and see them in their natural habitats and this means very little is publicly known about them. It is only those who manage to look for them in their natural habitats that get to experience the rare joy of watching a mountain gorilla family living together.
Common name: Mountain Gorilla
Scientific name: Gorilla Beringei Beringei
Types: Mammals
Diet: Omnivores
Group name: Troop, Band
Average life span: 35 years
Size: standing height, 4 to 6 feet
Weight: 136 to 220 kilograms
Mountain gorillas are the closest relatives to human beings. Researchers have shown that mountain gorillas share over 98% human DNA. And just like human beings, mountain gorillas have a special identifier. Human beings have fingerprints that differentiate them from each other while mountain gorillas have different nose patterns.
There is close association between humans and gorillas which can only be reflected in the 98% of the DNA shared between gorillas and humans but also in their geographical location. In most cases where you find mountain gorillas then such places are surrounded by local community groups which confirm that indeed the gorillas are loosely related with humans.
Mountain gorillas are known for constructing their nests in the evening where they are going to sleep that night. One in a while they build nests to rest on in the afternoon.
Would you love to spot mountain gorillas in the world? Contact Africa Adventure Vacations to find out more information and how to book a gorilla tracking safari in Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo and everything you need to know about mountain gorillas in the general
Don’t be misled by what you see on screens, mountain gorillas are not the always the violent beasts that are shown on big screens. On average, mountain gorillas are shy primates. According to local people who stay near the park, it’s very rare to find a mountain gorilla coming after you because you looked for it straight into the eyes and maintained eye contact.
However they can they can charge when their habitat or group member is under threat. They beat their chests and make noise and grunts to express their anger. Most of the times the silverback will charge at the threat and fight them until they die just to protect their family members.
The largest mountain gorilla family in the world that was studied was called Cantsbee and it was led by an alpha male in volcanoes national park in Rwanda. The silverback is the head of the family and leads the troop that is made of several young males, adult females, juveniles and infants.
Africa is the only continent in the entire world where you can find mountain gorillas in their natural habitats and they only live in central Africa. They live in two population one is Virunga volcanic mountains with in three national parks of Mgahinga national park in Uganda, Virunga national park in Congo and volcanoes national park in Rwanda. The other population is Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in south western Uganda.
Mountain gorilla can weigh between 135 – 220 kgs. You shouldn’t be surprised, they eat leaves, stems, ants, insects, termites and shoots. A mountain gorilla spends almost half of the day eating. Their habitat in the mountain has a lot of food for them in lush green forests that are perfect keep the eating going one. However there has been continued human encroachment with activities like poaching, deforestation and charcoal burning.
Many people know that the name silverback belongs to a special or species of mountain gorillas. However this is the name given to a male mountain gorillas and its drives from the coat of silver hair that grows on their backside. The sane way human being’s hair turns when grey when they grow old.
Silverbacks play a number of roles in a gorilla family such as leading the whole gorilla group, maintaining low and order and choosing the activities of what the family members will do. These activities include which route these gorillas will take when moving, feeding trips and what time to rest. They also mate with mature adult female gorillas and bring infants into the family.
Female mountain gorillas become sexually active at the age of 8 and they will give birth to one or two infants at a time. The mountain gorillas produce at the age of 10 and they have a gestation period of 8 months and a half. The female gorilla can produce 2 to 6 off springs during her life time.
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