The western lowland gorilla, also called Gorilla gorilla gorilla, is one of the two subspecies of the western gorilla. It is the smallest of the four types of gorillas. This is also the gorilla species you are most likely to see in a zoo.
Western lowland gorillas live in thick forests, mountain forests, and swampy lowlands in Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Angola.
An adult male gorilla is about 1.5 to 1.8 meters tall and weighs between 140 and 270 kilograms.
These gorillas have big hands with nails on each finger, short faces, wide nostrils, large mouths and ears, and a heavy eyebrow ridge. They also have strong jaw muscles. Western lowland gorillas often stand upright but usually walk on all fours, using their knuckles to support their weight.
They are the only type of gorilla known to have had an albino. This rare gorilla was called Snowflake. He was born in Equatorial Guinea and later moved to a zoo in Barcelona in 1966.
Western lowland gorillas move around within a home range of 8 to 45 kilometers and usually travel 3 to 5 kilometers each day.
They eat shoots, leaves, roots, wild celery, pulp, and tree bark. An adult can eat up to 18 kilograms of vegetation daily.
These gorillas are smart. They use tools like sticks to check how deep water is. They also use branches to pull termites and ants out of holes.
Their bodies are covered with greyish-brown hair, except for their faces, ears, hands, and feet. As they grow older, male gorillas develop grey hair on their backs. These are called silverbacks, and they lead the group and make all the decisions.
People often think gorillas are aggressive, but they are gentle animals. They live in groups of 5 to 30 members, led by a silverback who guides the group every day.
Gorillas have a low birth rate. Female gorillas become sexually mature between the ages of 8 and 12 years.
The western gorilla species is made up of two subspecies: the western lowland gorilla and the Cross River gorilla. The eastern gorilla species includes the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla.
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