Gorillas are the worlds largest species of primates inhabiting the sub tropical and tropical rainforests of Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species of Eastern gorilla and Western gorilla, the Eastern gorilla is further sub divided into Eastern low land gorilla and Mountain gorilla while the Western gorilla is divided into Western low land gorilla and Cross river mountain gorilla.
Gorillas are primarily herbivores animals with most of their diet comprising of fruits, bamboo shoot, stem, pith, bark, leaves, roots and also always supplement their diet with ants, insects and termites on some occasions they have been seen eating soil.
Gorillas a re afraid of caterpillars and chameleons for unknown reasons, the infant gorillas that are always excited of any moving thing will give way to chameleons and caterpillars. Gorillas also don’t drink water because most of the foods they consume contain a lot of moisture. Gorillas don’t one rain and always use logs for crossing streams.
What is the largest specie of a gorilla
Eastern lowland gorilla
This specie of gorilla inhabits the sub tropical and tropical rainforests of the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The population of the eastern low land gorilla was about 17,000 in the 1990s but there has been a decrease by over 50% in the recent years with its range decreasing from over 8000 square miles to about 5000 square miles today.
The main threat to the eastern low land gorilla population is habitat loss, disease, poaching and civil unrest in Congo. Though the Eastern low land gorilla is the largest of the gorilla species, its still on IUCN Red list as an endangered species of gorillas.
The eastern low land gorilla also known as Grauers gorilla is the largest living species of gorillas, these species of a gorilla is distinguished by its short muzzle, darker coloration and stocky bodies. The silverback males can weigh up to 272 Kilograms with a height of about 1.76 meters while females weigh less than the males and can stand up to 1.60 meters tall.
Western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is a sub specie of the Western gorilla inhabiting the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Cameroon and Central African Republic. This is the only subspecies of a gorilla that can survive in a zoo and its also the smallest species of the gorilla subspecies. The only albino gorilla ever recorded was a western lowland gorilla named snowflake from Equatorial Guinea.
Mountain gorilla
The mountain gorilla is a sub specie of eastern lowland gorilla inhabiting the tropical rainforests of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This specie of mountain gorilla cannot survive in zoos. According to the population of 2018 there are about 1004 mountain gorillas led tin the wild.
Cross river gorilla
The cross river gorilla was named a sub specie in 1904 by Paul Matschie, this specie of gorilla inhabits the forested hills of Cameroon and Nigeria border region. This is the most endangered specie of a gorilla with about 250 mature individuals left in the wilderness.
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