Facts About Mountain Gorillas – Mountain gorillas are stocky animals with 98% genetic similarity to humans, making them close cousins to humans, along with bonobos and chimpanzees.
They are found in only three countries in the entire world: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Below are brief facts about mountain gorillas:
- Largest Primates: Mountain gorillas are the largest primates. They live in tropical rainforests at elevations of 1,500–4,000 meters, where temperatures can drop significantly. To stay warm, they have very thick fur covering their skin.
- Wanderers: Mountain gorillas are wanderers and do not have permanent homes. They move from one place to another in search of food and build beds to sleep in every evening using twigs, leaves, and branches.
- Gentle Giants: Mountain gorillas are generally peaceful and only become aggressive when they feel intimidated or insecure. They do not attack without sending a warning to their attacker, which shows their gentle nature.
- Communication: Mountain gorillas communicate non-verbally because their larynx is higher than in humans, and their soft palate prevents them from using verbs, nouns, or forming sentences. Instead, they hoot and use gestures to communicate.
- Diet and Appearance: Mountain gorillas are not fat but massive and strong. They feed on about 60 pounds of leaves and vegetation daily. Like human vegetarians, they rely on a plant-based diet and are covered in thick hair.
- Tool Use: Mountain gorillas use tools to make life easier. They learn tool use from others, such as removing snares from young ones. They use sticks to extract ants from the ground or treetops and place logs across streams to pass through easily.
- Silverbacks: The silver coat on a silverback gorilla is a sign of sexual maturity. Mature males develop a saddle-shaped area of silver hairs, indicating they are fully grown.
- Baby Gorillas: Baby gorillas are smaller than human babies. A newborn gorilla weighs 3–4 pounds, which is less than the average weight of a newborn human baby.
- Threats to Survival: The greatest threat to mountain gorillas is human activity, including poaching, deforestation, bush burning, and poaching snares set for antelopes. These snares often trap, injure, or kill gorillas if they are not rescued in time.
The above are some of the key facts about mountain gorillas.
