Mountain Gorillas Habitat
Mountain Gorillas are stocky gentle Giants with broad chests , shoulders, large arms and tiny eyes fixed in a fearless face .
They are also very friendly giants with 98.3% genetic similarity to humans thereby making them one of the closest cousins to humans.
Mountain Gorillas are composed of very black thicker fur as compared to the other great apes which helps them live in the forests high in the mountains at elevations of 8000-13000 feet
Over the years, the world’s smallest mountain Gorilla population that is also a subspecies of the Eastern Gorillas split into two causing debates on whether they may be two different species
However, these mountain Gorillas live in three different countries that is
The democratic republic of congo , Rwanda and Uganda .
Along the borders of the Democratic Republic of congo and Rwanda, the mountain Gorillas stay in the Virunga mountains while in Uganda, the mountain Gorillas live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park .
It is very important to note that the mountain Gorilla species was first discovered in 1902 and the ape population has endured years of poaching , deforestation,wars, and diseases which was very alarming and incidentally checked their population by the end of the 20th century
This caused world wide awakening and need for a spirited fight to conserve and preserve the then declared endangered species .
Due to great conservation efforts by both National and international Organizations, some of which include,
International Gorilla Conservation Programme which is a combination of three conservation organizations That is WWF, conservation international, Fauna and Flora international ,African Wildlife Foundation ,Uganda Wildlife Authority
And many others , mountain Gorillas have registered a significant increase in their number thanks to the conservation efforts however it’s important to keep in mind that they still remain endangered
Mountain Gorillas stay In and area range of 15 squads mile that is 39 square kilometers and spend most of their life time eating a variety of plants, insects , fruits and sleep in nests alongside their different groups
Each mountain Gorilla group may comprise of 5-40 members depending on the leadership and members of the family
The younger or gorillas of lighter weights best on bent branches on trues whereas the heavier ones nest on grasses in the ground as the baby gorillas stay with their mothers
Mountain Gorillas also keep moving from one place to another and in most cases nest where they can easily find food and water .
By and large , mountain Gorillas stay up the forest on the mountain slopes and are highly adapted to their different ways of life .
