Gorillas are among the strong wildlife species in the entire world. Gorillas in Congo are kind of attraction which that has put the country up to the extent that it is known by every tourists for gorilla trekking in the world. DR Congo is the one of the three countries in the entire world with the endangered mountain gorilla’s species. Gorillas are locals of Africa are separated into 2 that is mountain and lowland gorillas. Mountain gorillas are scientifically called Gorilla beringei beringei and are estimated to be with a population of 1,000 species left in the entire world and this is according to reports of 2019 from ICCN. Lowland gorillas are scientifically called Gorilla beringei graueri and are found in the ends of southern parts of the country in Bukavu region. These gorilla species stay in the forests of central sub Saharan Africa. There a few untold facts about mountain gorillas that you should look out for and read. Gorillas in Congo are found in the Virunga Massif which is located in Kahuzi Biega and Virunga National Park.

ICNN study reports identify that 100,000 lowland gorillas are found in the western region countries and they include DR Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. These lowland gorillas are facing a lot of decline in the countries due to threats found in the region such as disease outbreak like Ebola virus that is said to have wiped 90% of western lowland gorillas in Gabon and Congo. Poaching also threatens these primate species in western countries. Mountain gorilla population in Virunga has been flat all the years in spite of the fact that the region has a lot of unrest. Congo gorillas are amazing creatures and are more habituated.

According to World Wildlife Federation (WWF), gorillas are known to be world’s largest primates. These mountain gorillas are bigger than the lowland mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas have a weight of about 135-220kgs whereas lowland gorillas have a weight of 68-181 Kgs.

A group of gorillas is known as a troop/band and can be made up of 2-50 family members with one male dominant silverback gorilla per each family. It can lead an area of 16 square miles. A silverback gorilla is identified by grey hair on the back. Once a male leaves his own family, he will move around alone as is trying to identify a place where he can create his own family since one dominant silverback is allowed in every family.

Gorillas are known to be herbivores and thus they depend on tree roots, leaves, tree pulp, and shoots and also feed on insects such as caterpillars and termites plus small animals. They are known to eat around 18kgs of food in a day.

The gestation period for these gorillas is 9 months which is the same as that of humans and they usually give birth to one infant and few times they give birth to twins. A fully grown up gorilla must have clocked 7 years and can have its own offspring’s thus leaving the mother’s family and forming their own family.

The estimated life expectancy of gorillas is roughly 35 years as they are in the wild and also 50 years when they are captives in protected areas or zoos. The mortality rate of individuals under the age of 2 years is high while for adults above 5 years is only at 5%. A gorilla that was in captivity in America is estimated to have live over 54 years.

Other amazing facts about Congo gorillas is the way they get moisture from hat they depend on/feed on and it acts as water to drink for a day instead of drinking water directly.

Gorillas in Congo also construct nests from tree leaves and tree branches in the forest every night. Other gorillas build their nests on the ground while the younger ones also build their nests up in the trees.