What is Special About Mountain Gorillas?
What is special about mountain gorillas? What makes gorillas unique? The most unique things about mountain gorillas is their DNA which is more close related to humans ‘’98%’’ and quite their huge bodies when they grow and the name great apes, to most people possibly think of the gorillas that the legendary primatologists by Dian Fossey, according to incredible work that she did in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda and her unsolved murder, captured the west’s imagination.
The mountain gorilla’s popularity as a Gorilla Trekking safari attraction, they are possibly the world’s most photographed apes. The truth is that gorillas are a subspecies of the Eastern gorilla, a much larger and varied gorilla. While their name suggests that they simply live on mountains and prefer forested mountains. They are the most threatened race of gorillas that move around the rainforests of western Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National park and the Virunga Mountains that enlarges the borders of southern Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They cannot be seen anywhere on earth.
Mountain gorillas live in the mountainous areas with altitude of 2500 to 4,000 meters. This altitude gives much less oxygen and the night temperature very cold, even if the day is cool, the sun is bright and harsh. There climate seems to be cold thus developing a unique adaptation to help them survive. These adaptation features are what makes mountain gorillas unique from other gorilla species.
Although all gorillas might appear to look the same, it is possible to tell the different subspecies apart. The habits and physical appearance of gorillas differentiate themselves to other subspecies.
If you get time of observing the mountain gorilla physical appearance, you will notice that these intelligent apes have longer and thicker fur than lowland gorillas. The long fur and large mass help to keep them warm in colder temperature.
Mountain gorillas cannot survive in captivity while lowland gorillas can survive in captivity. They also have black fur while lowland gorillas have brownish fur, gorillas have broader chests and longer faces compared to other.
Others facts
Mountain gorillas have a fur that help them to survive in a habitat where temperature often drop below freezing.
Mountains live in two isolated groups in east –central Africa, one in the Virunga Volcanoes spanning in three national park in Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo and one in Bwindi Impenetrable national park –Uganda, that connects to Sarambwe Nature Reserve, DRC.
They are found in high altitude montane and bamboo forest which are surrounded by agriculture and settlement.
Mountain gorillas are one of the biggest and most powerful living primates, male gorillas can weigh up to 180 kilograms.
They tend to eat all day long feeding mainly on leaves, shoots, snails, ants and bark.
gorillas have several different types of call, when they are mildly alarmed while male gorillas strut with stiff legs, beat their chests and use vocalizations like roars or hoots.
They live in family groups of around 30 individuals one silverback and many female gorillas. Both care for their babies; hugging, carrying and play with them.
There are two species of gorilla; the eastern and western. According to the latest census mountain gorillas ‘’eastern subspecies’’ are estimated around 1,063 exist in the wild.
They sleep in nests with their infants safe and warm.
When male gorillas mature their hair turns grey, starting with the back – ‘’silverback.
They have dark brown eyes, framed by a dark ring around the iris. Gorillas are also said to have a singular eye color of dark brown unlike that of humans who have many eye colors.
Mountain gorillas have unique fingerprints nose patterns, which you use to distinguish between two similar looking individuals.
Mountain gorillas live in small family groups called troops and the family usually consists of about 10 individuals with one silverback as the leader.
It’s amazing gorillas to undergo 8.5 months’ reproduction to have babies. That is two weeks less than the gestation period of humans.
They are stronger than a human.
Mountain gorillas can easily be caught by human diseases like flu, cough, diarrhea, covid-19.
Mountain gorillas are threatened in their habitat and such threat include; poaching, bush meat trade, agriculture, logging.
Mountain gorillas can be found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga Gorilla national park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes national park and Democratic Republic of Congo in Virunga national park.
