The Wildlife |
Gorilla |
Gorillas can be found in forest habitats in Congo, Gabon and African countries. They are also found in the Virunga Volcanoes and in the Bwindi area. Some are in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Westwards to Kasese. There is no accurate estimate of how many wild gorillas there are. But over the years surveys have established that are about 100,000 individual western lowland Gorillas in the Gabon and Congo region. Recent reports state that the number of gorillas has declined over the years do to bushmeat operations.
In the Nigeria-Cameroon region recent estimates suggest that only 150-200 remain from the 1,500 that once existed. Estimates in the 1990's suggest that fewer than 350 mountain gorillas exist in the Virunga Volcanoes and fewer than 300 in the Bwindi area. Gorillas are vegetarians, who eat roots, fruits, shoots, leaves, termites, bark, and pith. Due to their size gorillas need large amounts of food. During the dry season they eat more herbs and bark. Due to their diet of fruit, and leaves containing due in the morning, gorillas require no further source of water.
Primates, in general, are very social animals, and mountain gorillas are no exception. They live in small family groups consisting of varying numbers of males, females, infants, and juveniles. Each group is led by a dominant male gorilla. The dominant silverback protects his group and leads in the search for food. In most monkey populations, the females stay with their family, while the males leave their groups at adolescence. In effect, mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers stay together in family groups. A different social structure emerges among gorillas--females leave their family and join other groups.
Gorilla
Gorilla
Gorilla
Gorilla
Gorilla
