Interesting Facts About Mountain Gorillas

There are many interesting facts about mountain gorillas in Africa. Mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Conservation Area and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The Virunga area is shared by three parks: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga National Park in Congo. All these parks are found on the mountain slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes.

Each of the three countries charges different prices to trek mountain gorillas, but the experience is worth the cost. A gorilla permit costs $800 in Uganda, $400 in Congo, and $1500 in Rwanda.

29 Mountain Gorilla Facts You Should Know

There are slightly more than 1,000 mountain gorillas in the whole world.
Male mountain gorillas are heavier than females. Males can weigh up to 180 kilograms, while females weigh about 90 kilograms.
When born, baby gorillas are weak and weigh about 4 pounds. They stay close to their mothers and ride on their backs until they are 3 or 4 years old. They feed on their mother’s milk until they grow older.
Female gorillas start giving birth at around 10 years old. In their lifetime, they can give birth to 2 to 6 babies. Pregnancy lasts 8 to 9 months.
The dominant silverback leads the group and decides on daily activities. He protects the group even if it means risking his life.
Mountain gorillas are gentle and shy. They only become aggressive when they feel threatened. If they charge, they may grunt, roar, beat their chests, and tear plants to scare the threat. Female gorillas also defend their young, even to the point of death.
Mountain gorillas live only in the Virunga Conservation Area and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
They share over 98% of their DNA with humans, making them very close relatives, next to chimpanzees.
Mountain gorillas can live up to 54 years. However, they cannot survive in captivity.
As male gorillas grow, the hair on their backs turns silver-grey. That is why they are called silverbacks.
Gorillas make new nests every evening to sleep in. They only sleep in the same nest again if it is very cold or has rained.
Mountain gorillas are the largest primates in the world.
They can cry when they are hurt and laugh when tickled. They are emotional, just like humans.
Mountain gorillas do not need to drink water often because most of the food they eat contains water.
They are very smart. Some have learned sign language and can interact with humans.
Male gorillas can eat over 49 pounds of plants every day. Females eat slightly less.
Gorillas walk using all four limbs. Their front limbs are longer and stronger than their back limbs.
They live in groups of 5 to 30 members, led by a silverback. Some groups stay together for more than 20 years.
Mountain gorillas mostly eat plants, but they may rarely eat meat to add to their diet.
For unknown reasons, mountain gorillas fear reptiles like chameleons and caterpillars. Young gorillas often avoid them even though they like to follow crawling things.
Mountain gorillas cannot live long in zoos. If you saw gorillas in a zoo, they were probably lowland gorillas. Mountain gorillas only live in high mountain areas.
They do not always use sounds to communicate like humans. They also use body gestures to pass messages to each other.
Mountain gorillas do not have a fixed mating season. Babies can be born at any time of the year.
They are nomadic. They move every day to look for food and fruits. They do not sleep in the same place.
Mountain gorillas wake up early, around 6 am, to look for food. They rest around midday, then continue feeding until 6 pm before making nests to sleep.
They use tools like sticks and branches to get insects from the ground or tree holes.
Mountain gorillas face big threats from human activities like poaching and loss of their natural homes.
Mountain gorillas cannot survive outside their forest homes.
The heaviest silverback ever recorded weighed 225 kilograms.