Gorilla is the largest primate on earth with a male weighing over 180kg(400 Ib) and females weigh half to the size of a male about 90kg(200Ib) and 2nd close relative of man after the chimpanzee and the orangutan as well, they are regarded very humble and rarely attack human. Gorillas are divided into four subspecies to mention then include
- The cross river gorillas (goreilla diehli): this type of gorilla is rarely seen and according to the census carried on them their about 300 individuals left in the wild, and they are found in the border between Cameroon and Nigeria.
- Western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla) , according to the counting carried out in 2008 it is believed that their about 125,000 western lowland gorillas living in Africa and this type of gorilla are mostly found in zoos.
- Eastern low land gorilla (gorilla graueri) this type of gorilla is mainly found in the eastern Congolese rain forest although it’s believed that their about 5,000 eastern lowland gorillas live in the wild.
- Mountain gorillas ( gorilla beringei) , this is the most endangered of all, they only live in afro montane rain forest in the northwest of Rwanda , eastern democratic republic of Congo and southwest Uganda . According to the population census carried on them in 2012 it is estimated that there about 880 mountain gorillas left in the world and only mountain gorillas can be tracked safely in their natural habitat because this type of gorillas is habituated to human standards.
The mountain gorillas is considered the most endangered among all type of gorillas, the reason being, they cannot survive in captivity, you will never see a mountain gorilla in zoos, they can only be seen in their natural environment. Part of the individual inhabit the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes extending out from the border area of Congo and Rwanda and the other half of the mountain gorillas are found in the Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda.
Gorillas & People
Although chimpanzee and orangutan is our closet relative on planet earth, the gorillas resembles us in many aspects, they spend more time on ground and they like walking on their knuckles and their hands and feet are like ours. Gorillas share almost 96% of human DNA make up with human. Gorillas re estremely gentle and peace loving and aggression are rarely seen in the life of gorillas although they look tough. In case of any danger they stand up for each other to fight the enemy and protect the weaker ones. Serious fights in gorillas normally happen in case one group meets the other or when leader meet each other.