18 facts about Mountain Gorillas; These are some of the amazing facts one should know before and after visiting the endangered gorilla species.
Mountain gorillas are special ground-dwelling mammals that live both in montane rainforests and the volcanic mountains of East Africa. The endangered mountain gorillas in the world live only in three ”3” National Parks namely; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park both located in the southwestern region of Uganda, approximately 8 to 9 hours drive and alternatively can use a domestic flight Aero link Uganda from Entebbe International Airport to Kihihi or Kisoro Airport lands within 1:15 hours and transfer to the park by car which lasts 1hour drive.
Mountain gorillas in Rwanda are found in Volcanoes National Park which is located in the northwestern region of Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, located in the eastern part of the country.
Before you go for Gorilla Trekking Safari, you’re advised to find out the Key facts about these habituated gentle giants in the wild, and below are the main 18 facts about mountain gorillas any traveler would want to know;
1. Mountain gorillas are the perfect primates who are said to share 98% of DNA familiar to humans.
2. Mountain gorillas live in only three recognized countries worldwide that is; Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo which are East African Countries.
3. Currently, there is a total population of about 1200 mountain gorilla individuals in the world and half of the total of these great mountain gorillas live in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
4. Mountain gorillas live in groups of up to 30 individuals led by the head of the family known as Silverback comprising of younger males, adults, infants, and juveniles’ females.
5. The male-aged mountain gorillas are called silverbacks. Their work in a group is to ensure the protection of the troop during the feeding trip, and resting time, maintain order in the group and all activities to be done during the day.
6. Female Mountain gorillas start reproducing from the age of ten and they give birth after an eight-and-a-half month gestation period.
7. Female Mountain gorillas give birth to about 2 -6 offspring in a lifetime.
8. Mountain gorillas are the largest primates on the earth and weigh up to 390 pounds for males and female gorillas weigh half of the male with 240 -250 pounds.
9. They are closely related to human emotions in a way that, they can laugh like we are humans when we are tickled and gorillas can cry when you hurt them.
10. Male Mountain gorillas in the day can eat about 49 pounds of vegetables and females eat less than that.
11. They take time to drink water but instead hydrate from eating plants.
12. Mountain gorillas form vines leaves and branches as their baby beds. A newly born mountain gorilla’s weight of about 4.5 pounds.
13. 1 They live in families that might have over 30 members and can last for over 20 years.
14. They often use their four limbs to walk and don’t have tails.
15. Mountain gorillas are intelligent apes that use sign language to interact with humans.
16. Mountain gorillas build their nest in the evening up high on tree branches for sleeping.
17. Male Mountain gorillas when they grow old their hair turns to be silver and that’s where the word silverback was derived from.
18. Mountain gorillas live up to the age of 54 years and Female gorillas give birth after 4 to 5 years with a gestation period of 8 to 9 months like we humans.
Mountain gorillas are the most remarkable primates and above all, those are the amazing facts you need to know about these ultimate mountain gorillas.
Get started booking your Gorilla Trekking Safari and get to meet up with these critically endangered mountain gorillas in person, which can be visited in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Well, you can participate in Gorilla Trekking Safari all year round. You can opt to combine a wildlife safari in Kenya by visiting Masai Mara National Reserve or Samburu National Reserve many more.
