Gorillas of Africa
The Gorillas which live in Equatorial Africa.Basin are our closest living relatives after chimpanzees and bonobos. There are two species of gorilla’s namely lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas. The lowland gorillas are found in west and Central Africa and the mountain gorillas are found in Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Facts about Gorillas
- Gorillas live reasonably family groups led by dominant male
- The group size can range from 2 to 50
- The family group’s home range may vary from 5 to over 30km² with frequent overlap between group ranges.
- With few exceptions female gorillas leave their group at maturity to join other groups or single males.
Diet
Gorillas are mainly vegetarian and they feed on the following;
- Stems,
- Leaves
- Bamboo shoots,
- Fruits
- Bark and invertebrates
- Termites and ants.
Population distribution
Western Lowland Gorillas
They live in tropical forest of Central Africa with their population estimated in the region of 100,000. The western lowland gorillas are found in Gabon. Cameroon and Republic of Congo.
Cross River Gorillas
These are about 250 -300 found in the highland forest on the border of Cameroon and Nigeria.
Eastern Lowland Gorillas
They are found only in the rainforests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their exact population size is not known. Their population has been reduced due to increased poaching.
Mountain Gorillas
Mountain gorillas are found in the Virunga range of extinct volcanic mountains on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda, and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
The population of mountain gorillas is estimated at 880 distributed 480 in Virunga Mountain Range and 400 in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Source of information
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/great_apes/gorillas/?src=footer
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/mountain-gorilla
http://www.wcs.org/saving-wildlife/great-apes/western-lowland-gorillas.aspx