Eastern gorilla. Gorilla: photo, weight

Kingdom: Animals

Type of: Chordates

Class: Mammals

Detachment: Primates

Family: Hominid

Genus: Gorilla

Spreading

The most numerous subspecies is the western coastal gorilla (G.g. gorilla), which inhabits the lowland forests of West Africa. She has gray-brown fur and relatively small nostril ridges. In males, the backs and buttocks are painted silver.

It was this subspecies that was first described in 1847 by the Protestant missionary Thomas Savage, who arrived from the USA in Liberia. He did not see a living giant primate, but made a description based on the skull and bones that fell to him.

The Eastern lowland gorilla (G.g. graueri) is found in the lowland jungles of Central Africa. She has a more muscular body, and silver fur is only on the back of males. The muzzle is elongated with large ridges around the nostrils.

The mountain gorilla (G.g. beringe) lives in the Virunga Mountains in the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. It is characterized by thick black fur. The muzzle is slightly flattened and broad, the wings of the nose are rounded.

Biological description and characterization

Adult males are very large animals, and their height in natural environment habitat, as a rule, is 170-175 cm, but sometimes there are also taller individuals with a height of two meters or more. The width of the shoulders of an adult animal varies within a meter. The average body weight of males is within three hundred kilograms, and the weight of the female is much less and rarely exceeds 150 kg.

To get enough food for themselves, gorillas use very strong upper limbs, the muscles on which are six times stronger than the muscle strength of any average person.

The primate has a massive physique, and also has a strong and well-developed musculature. The body is covered with dark and fairly thick hair. Adult males are distinguished by the presence of a clearly visible stripe of silver coloration on the back. Primates of this species are characterized by a pronounced protruding eyebrow. The head is quite large in size and has a low forehead. A feature is a massive and protruding jaw, as well as a powerful supraorbital ridge. On the upper part of the head there is a kind of pillow, which is formed by a leathery thickening and connective tissue.

The body of the gorilla has a characteristic shape: the width of the abdomen exceeds the width of the chest, which is due to the large size digestive system necessary for the efficient digestion of a significant amount of high-fiber foods of plant origin.

The ratio of the average length of the fore and hind limbs is 6:5. In addition, the wild animal has strong hands and powerful feet, which allows the gorilla to periodically stand and move on its hind limbs, but moving on all fours is still natural. In the process of walking, the gorilla does not rest its forelimbs on the fingertips. Support serves outer side bent fingers, which helps to preserve the thin and sensitive skin on the inside of the hand.

Gorilla: the history of the discovery of the species

2400 years ago, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno brought strange news from a trip to the shores of West Africa. He reported wild, hairy men and women, whom the translator called "gorillas." Travelers met them on the heights of Sierra Leone. Wild "men" began to throw stones at the Carthaginians. The soldiers caught several hairy "women".

It is believed that the animals that Gannon saw were not gorillas at all, but baboons. But since then, the word "gorilla" has not left the lips of Europeans.

However, centuries passed, but no one else met in Africa "hairy forest people"No one has heard of them. And even medieval geographers, who easily believed in “dog-headed” people and in headless lemnias with eyes on their chests, began to doubt the real existence of gorillas. Little by little, the opinion was established among naturalists that the legendary gorillas are just chimpanzees, "exaggerated" by rumor. And chimpanzees by this time were already well known in Europe. (In 1641, the first living chimpanzee was brought to Holland. It was described in detail by the anatomist Tulp.)

At the end of the 16th century, the English sailor Andrei Betel was captured by the Portuguese. For eighteen years he lived in Africa, not far from Angola. Your life in wild country Betel described in the essay "The Amazing Adventures of Andrei Betel", published in a collection of travels in 1625. Bethel talks about two huge monkeys - engeko and pongo. Engeko is a chimpanzee, but Pongo is definitely a gorilla. Pongo looks like a human, but he can't even throw a log on a fire. This monster is a real giant. Armed with a club, he kills people and hunts ... elephants. It is impossible to catch a live pongo, and to find a dead one is also not easy, because pongos bury their dead under fallen leaves.

Bethel's incredible stories convinced few people. Few naturalists believed then in the existence of gorillas. Among the "believers" was the famous French scientist Buffon. He admitted that Bethel's stories may have a real basis. But the "unbelievers" considered the hairy ape-like people an impossible chimera, like those ridiculous monsters that adorn the pediments of Notre Dame Cathedral.

But in 1847, Dr. Thomas Savage, who lived for a whole year on the Gabon River (flows into the Gulf of Guinea south of Cameroon), published his scientific works. It was the first reliable description of the way of life and appearance gorillas. Thus, already at the end of the 19th century, European science knew that a large anthropoid ape lives in the tropical forests of Central Africa, the size of which exceeds the size of a chimpanzee, which is called a gorilla.

Gorilla species

Numerous studies have made it possible to determine that a couple of species and four subspecies can be assigned to the genus of gorillas, some of which are classified as rare and listed in the Red Book.

western gorilla

This species includes two subspecies: the lowland gorilla and the river gorilla, which are common in lowland tropical areas. forest zones, where dense grassy vegetation and wetlands prevail.

On the body, except for the head and limbs, there are dark hairs. The frontal part has a brownish-yellowish or gray-yellowish coloration.. The nose with large nostrils has a characteristic overhanging tip. Eyes and ears are small. On the hands are large nails and large fingers.

Western gorillas are combined into groups, the composition of which can vary from two individuals to two dozen individuals, of which at least one male, as well as females with hatched young. Sexually mature individuals, as a rule, leave the group, and, leaving their parents, are completely alone for some time. characteristic feature is the transition of females at the breeding stage from group to group. The gestation period lasts an average of 260 days, resulting in the birth of one cub, guarded by parents until about three to four years.

eastern gorilla

Distributed in the lowland and mountainous subalpine forest zones of the tropics, the species is represented by the mountain gorilla and the lowland gorilla. These subspecies are characterized by the presence of a large head, a broad chest and long lower limbs. The nose is flat and has large nostrils.

The hairline is predominantly black in color, with a bluish tint. Adult males have a pronounced silver stripe on the back. Almost the entire body is covered with fur, with the exception of the face, chest, palms and feet. In adults, a well-marked, noble grayish coloration appears with age.

Family groups consist of an average of thirty to forty individuals, and are represented by a dominant male, females and cubs. Before the breeding season, females are able to move from one group to another or join single males, as a result of which a new family group is created. Males that have reached sexual maturity leave the group and, after about five years, create a new family on their own.

Lifestyle

Gorillas live in family groups, including females, their cubs and one (rarely several) adult males. The male protects his group from predators and other males. In the latter case, the male, as a rule, is limited only to a demonstration of force, not applying it in practice. The demonstration of strength takes place as follows: the male rushes at the enemy, stopping abruptly in front of him, often getting up from all fours to his feet and hitting himself in the chest with his fists, when he tries to escape, he catches up and bites (usually once - “so that it would be disrespectful”, but the gorillas no longer it is necessary, with fangs of 5 cm). Due to the latter feature, in some African tribes, getting bitten by a gorilla was a disgrace, showing that the person had chickened out and fled.

Sometimes the male demonstrates strength for the sake of self-affirmation: at first he hoots muffledly, the hooting smoothly flows into a piercing cry, after which he gets to his feet and, hunched over in his shoulders, beats his chest with his fists. Then he scatters, standing on two legs, gets down on all fours and runs further, breaking everything in his path, then stops and beats the ground with his palms.

In the process of growing up, the color of the coat on the back of the male changes - from black to silver. Family groups are usually led by males with a silver coat on their backs. Male gorillas, upon reaching puberty, as a rule, leave their native group.

In the morning, gorillas eat, after which they slowly walk through the forest. At noon, the gorillas have a siesta - someone builds nests for a siesta, the rest just lie on the ground. At this time, mothers clean the cubs' fur, adults and older cubs check and clean each other's skin, but less actively and accurately than other primates.

First, the male builds a nest for sleeping, other members of the group take an example from him. Because of his heavy weight the male builds a ground nest by folding branches and bending grass stalks inward at various angles. The rest sometimes spend the night in the trees. At night the whole group sleeps.

The western gorilla inhabits lowland rainforests with dense grassy litter and swampy areas, while the eastern gorilla lives in lowland and montane subalpine forests with thick grassy litter. Both types of gorillas live in Africa. Gorillas, along with chimpanzees and orangutans, are genetically closest to humans compared to other primates.

Food

For most of the day, gorillas forage, eating mainly leaves, young shoots and fruits. Between feedings, they roam around the group territory, covering distances from several hundred meters to one and a half kilometers or more per day. At dusk, the group settles for the night in the same place where they ate before. By bending thin branches, gorillas build individual nests in the form of elastic flooring on the ground or in a tree. The size of the area where the family feeds, moves and sleeps varies from 5 to 30 km2.

reproduction

Gorillas live in relatively stable groups of 5 to 30 animals. In such a group, there may be one adult male with a silver back ("silverback") - leader, 1-2 immature males, 3-6 adult females over 8 years old, mated with the leader, and 3-10 cubs different ages. (Interestingly, studies in recent years have shown that about a third of family groups include 2 adult males at once). Adult females in a harem are usually unrelated and social connections between them are very weak, so it is not they who hold the family group together, but the bonds of each female with the silver-backed male.

Females give birth about once every 6-8 years. The newborn weighs 1.8-2 kg and is absolutely helpless. He starts crawling after about 9 weeks, and walking at 30-40 weeks. For the first 8 months, he feeds exclusively on mother's milk, sometimes the mother feeds him up to three years. If a young female stays in her home group, mother's support is important for her even much later, when she has a child of her own.

Females reach sexual maturity at 7-8 years, males at 10, but young gorillas begin to breed much later (males not earlier than 15-20 years). Three quarters of young females and half of males leave the family group in which they were born. Females usually fall into the group of a neighboring silverback, but do not necessarily stay with him forever. Young males who have left their group are forced to roam alone or with other males for some time, and sometimes it takes years until they manage to acquire females from other groups and create their own harem. If this finally happens, the male usually remains in it for the rest of his life. I must say that his life is very turbulent, because quite often alien males try to take away his females, and you have to stand up for them.

Natural enemies of the gorilla

In their natural habitat, large monkeys have practically no enemies. The impressive size, as well as strong collective support, made the gorilla absolutely invulnerable to other animals. It should also be noted that gorillas themselves never show aggression towards neighboring animals, therefore they often live in close proximity to ungulate species and smaller species of monkeys.

In this way, the only enemy for a gorilla is a person, or rather local poachers, which destroy primates in order to obtain valuable exhibits for collectors in the field of zoology. Gorillas, unfortunately, are an endangered species. Their extermination is set in last years very widely, and is carried out in order to obtain quite valuable fur and skulls. Baby gorillas are captured in large numbers and then resold to private hands or to numerous petting zoos.

A separate problem is also human infections, to which gorillas have practically no immunity. Such diseases are very dangerous for gorillas of any kind, and often cause a massive reduction in the number of primate families in their natural habitat.

Why is it listed in the Red Book?

Over the past 20 years (for the eastern mountain gorilla, this is one generation), the number of the subspecies has fallen dramatically. Today, only about 700 representatives of the subspecies remain in nature, and scientists believe that the negative trend will continue in the future. If we count from 1970, then three generations of gorillas will replace each other by 2030. According to preliminary forecasts, the population of the subspecies will decrease by 50% over this period.

Although the causes of such negative events are quite understandable and fairly well studied, the situation is not easy to change. The region in which gorillas live is a territory of political instability. The number of the local population is growing rapidly every year, but the adopted laws are not always observed. In modern times, the hunting of eastern mountain gorillas has become more widespread than during the ethnic wars. Often, mountain gorillas become infected from people, domestic and other wild animals with severe infectious diseases.

In this area there is active grazing, as well as illegal logging the woods. However, researchers are trying to make observations, making every effort to save the rare and endangered subspecies.

1. Gorillas are the most major representatives order of primates.
2. Gorilla DNA is very similar to human DNA - 95-99%.
3. They are the next closest human relative after the two species of chimpanzees; all hominins descended from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.
4. There are now more than 100,000 western lowland gorillas in the wild and 4,000 more in zoos.
5. There are about 4,000 Eastern lowland gorillas in the wild, and only 24 in zoos.
6. Mountain gorillas are the most endangered - only about 620 individuals remain in nature and none in zoos.
7. Gorillas can stand up and walk on their hind legs, but usually walk on all fours. At the same time, gorillas, as well as chimpanzees, when walking do not rely on the palms and pads of the fingers of the front paws, as all other animals do, but on the back of the bent fingers. This way of walking allows you to save quite thin sensitive skin on the inside of the hand.
8. Gorillas and chimpanzees use this mode of locomotion along with anteaters and platypuses.
9. An adult male reaches 1.65-1.75 m in height with a shoulder width of about a meter and weighs 140-200 kg.
10. The cub is completely dependent on the mother, who feeds, carries, protects and emotionally supports him until the age of three, when he becomes an independent member of the group.
11. The life expectancy of gorillas is 30-50 years, although there were also “long-livers”.
12. At nightfall, all activity ceases and the group goes to bed.
13. In gorilla families, quarrels occur mainly between females. When attacking a family group of gorillas, males stand up for defense. Aggression comes down most often to a demonstration of strength and intimidation: the gorilla rushes at the enemy and abruptly stops in front of him, often rises from all fours to his feet and beats himself in the chest.
14. Gorillas do not have to drink - juicy greens already contain enough moisture. Reservoirs and water in general are avoided whenever possible, and rain is disliked.

Video

Sources

http://animalworld.com.ua/news/Interesnyje-fakty-o-gorillah https://zooclub.org.ua/primaty/351-gorilla.html http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/nauka_i_tehnika/ biologiya/GORILLI.html http://www.zooeco.com/0-mlek/0-mlek0036.html http://zoogalaktika.ru/photos/mammalia/primates/catarrhini/hominoidea/gorilla

Male gorilla (all photos are clickable)

Gorillas belong to the order of primates, that is, they are great apes. They are very similar to people: they can walk on lower limbs, deftly own hands, have facial expressions, their blood has groups, and the structure of DNA coincides with that of a human.

Their habitats are African rainforests, plains and mountains. In accordance with this, lowland and mountain gorillas are distinguished.

The word "gorilla" was given to the world by the Carthaginian navigator Gannon, who sailed to the shores of West Africa 2500 years ago, where he discovered and described "wild hairy people." Much later, great apes were discovered in both East and Central Africa. And by the 1930s, science had a lot of information about these monkeys and a lot of their names: engina, gorilla gin, gin, mountain gorilla, etc. Until the American scientist Harold Coolidge determined that they were all one species.

Modern science knows three subspecies of gorillas that differ in habitats: western valley (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon), mountain (mountain forests around Lake Kivu), eastern valley (forests near Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River). Only a specialist can see their differences. In general, this is a very large black monkey, whose height reaches two meters, weighing 250-300 kg, with a large head, powerful chest, a noticeable belly, long arms and short legs. The body is covered with hair, except for the face, ears, hands and feet. These monkeys have a very expressive face: under prominent superciliary arches, deep-set eyes, wide nostrils, tightly compressed lips.

mom and baby

In nature, gorillas live in herds of up to 30 individuals. Their daily routine is simple: food - sleep, sleep - food. They sleep a lot, for the night they arrange nests in trees or in bamboo thickets. Each arranges a place to sleep for the night. Even cubs know how to arrange a place for themselves to rest. They eat mainly plant foods: young shoots of trees, berries, nettles, celery.

The gorilla is a social animal, living in a family group led by a mature male, identifiable by its silvery-gray back. In addition to him and the females, the family has several young males who are brothers or sons of the head of the pack, they help him protect the group from enemies, mainly poisonous snakes and boas, as well as from other monkeys and humans. The leader himself is very strong and brutal, but in relation to his wives and cubs he is kind and gentle. In terms of procreation, the choice remains with the female, she herself determines when she will enter into a relationship with the leader, and can leave the family if feelings fade away.

Pregnancy in a female lasts 251-289 days, the newborn weighs a kilogram and a half, he is naked, without teeth, looks like a child. During first three months, the baby learns to focus his eyes, recognize his relatives, respond to maternal caress and make many complex movements to know the world. At the same time, he masters the way of riding on his mother. Six months later, this is already a tomboy, he still feeds on mother's milk, but is already trying adult food. Until about four years old, she continues to be with her mother, even if she has another baby, the female sleeps along with all the small children. A gorilla giving birth for the first time is helped by more experienced females. The worst thing for a cub is when, when moving to other places, it breaks off its mother's back and gets lost in the thickets - then it will not survive.

Gorilla female and her baby

By the age of seven, the gorilla reaches puberty. The grown-up daughters of the leader leave the group to the males of other families. The eldest sons remain in the family as heirs. And the younger ones leave to try their luck in other territories and create their own families.

Like all social animals, gorillas don't like conflict. But when threatened, the male leader becomes scary. His fury has been described by many researchers, we know about it from films. The leader, having become enraged, throws his head back and begins to hoot intermittently, the hooting gradually grows and merges into a continuous roar. Having reached a certain limit, the roar stops, and the leader tears off the leaf and puts it between his lips. At this time, it is better not to get in his way, because the leaf in the mouth is a sign of violent actions. Kindred at this time move away and find shelter. And the male, standing up, beats his chest, then pulls out bunches of grass or bushes, violently rushes forward (everyone who gets in his way at this moment can be killed) and puts all his anger into hitting the ground. A few blows - and the leader calms down, sits on the ground and looks around him. The frightened family comes out of their shelters. The rest of the gorilla's emotions are in the eyes, her gaze is able to express all shades of mood, from stormy joy to despair and annoyance.

Gorillas are suffering from human intervention, their numbers are declining, but thanks to the research of scientists, we have learned a lot about them and, it is likely that there will be many discoveries related to these great apes.

There are many feature films, in which leading role gigantic fictional monkeys perform. It is simply impossible to meet the real King Kong anywhere because he does not really exist. But it is still really possible to see its prototype in nature or in some zoo.

Which are considered the largest in the world? Gorilla Monkey - it is the largest representative of primates. They bear too much resemblance to. The structure and even some of the habits of these animals are very similar to those of humans. For the first time, people learned about them from the description of Thomas Sevagemiz, a missionary from America.

Features and habitat of the gorilla

AT real life options great gorilla ape much less than in science fiction films about her. The average height of this interesting animal is about two meters, and the weight sometimes reaches 270 kg. Males are always twice as large as females. Their broad back is most conspicuous. The shoulder width of the male reaches one meter.

All over the body gorilla monkey photo incredible strength and power is visible to the naked eye. It is massive, has well-developed muscles, strong hands and powerful feet.

The gorilla's shoulder shiran can reach one meter.

The coat color of gorillas is dark in color, adult males still have a silvery stripe running across their entire back. The superciliary ridges of the gorilla protrude noticeably forward.

The forelimbs are much longer than the hind limbs. This animal can easily move on its hind limbs, but still prefers to walk on all fours. Gorillas walk, leaning on the fingers of the back side, so the inner side of the animal's palms is quite sensitive.

On the large head of the animal there is a low forehead and a massive jaw protruding forward. The brain volume of a gorilla is about 600 cubic centimeters. An animal has 48 chromosomes.

Gorilla species

Gorillas are divided into two types. Those who live in the plains moist forests Gabon, Cameroon and Congo are called lowland gorillas.

Those who live in the central regions of Africa in the Virunga mountain ranges are called mountainous. Mountain gorillas differ from lowland gorillas in their long hair, which they need in order to protect animals from severe mountain frosts.

The nature and lifestyle of the gorilla

Gorilla monkey lives in groups of 5-30 individuals. The leader takes the main place in such a group, there are also a couple of males, females and babies. Gorillas are the most frightening inhabitants of the forest, so they have no special ill-wishers and enemies.

Their food grows everywhere in the forests, so they don't have to spend a lot of time looking for food. In the morning, primates prefer to sleep. After waking up, the animals walk around the tropics and rest.

For most gorillas, rest is sleep, small primates play among themselves, while other animals search in each other's fur.

After that, they again walk through the jungle, while taking food at the same time. This occupation continues with them until dusk. Closer to the night, the leader of the group begins to build a nest for himself from the branches.

Due to its large weight, the leader often has to sleep on the ground.

As a rule, it is always on the ground because the leader usually has a large mass. Other members of the friendly group climb trees and, having built their nests there, fall asleep soundly in those places where the night catches them.

It is quite comfortable and natural for these social animals to be in a group. Gorillas do not like water bodies and try to avoid them. They also do not rejoice in rainy weather.

Although the appearance of the gorilla is frightening, these animals are actually good-natured and peaceful, if they do not come into conflict with it. Their leader may perform a frightening dance in order to strengthen his authority and protect the group from the enemy, but this threat, as a rule, does not go beyond the dance.

Even, having raged, most often refrains from attacking a person. If it does, it's small, insignificant bites.

Gorillas are friendly

The group of gorillas is mostly calm. Scandals periodically occur between females, which quickly stop after small verbal skirmishes.

The leader at this time does not interfere in the quarrel between the "ladies", but modestly watches all this from the side. Communication between all members of the group occurs at the level of the signaling system, which consists of facial expressions and sounds.

Gorilla food

The largest primates are vegetarians. The main food of gorillas are plant products. Between play and rest gorilla monkey eating celery, nettle, bedstraw, bamboo shoots and pygeum fruits.

They dilute their main diet with nuts and fruits. Gorillas are very strong jaws, they easily chew the roots of trees, branches and wood. Sometimes insects can get into food, extremely rarely.

Gorillas compensate for the lack of salt in the body with the help of certain types of clay. The size of the animals does not allow them to eat on a tree, for this they descend to the ground.

For a long time can survive without water because there is enough moisture in the greenery that they consume. In order to feel good, gorillas have to eat a lot of food. In fact, their whole day consists of the fact that they get their own food, absorb it and sleep.

Reproduction and lifespan of a gorilla

Childbearing age in female gorillas begins at 10 years, in males from 15-20 years. Births occur about once every four years. Pregnancy lasts 250-270 days. A small baby is born, weighing 1.5.

Pictured is a baby gorilla

He is completely helpless, unable to even crawl. Up to 8 months, he eats only mother's milk. Sometimes breast-feeding extends up to 3 years. For a long time, children are close to their parents. Gorillas live in nature up to about 40 years. In captivity ten years longer.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gorilla beringei beringei Matschie, 1903

Eastern mountain gorilla or mountain gorilla(lat. Gorilla beringei beringei listen)) is one of two subspecies of the eastern gorilla, a genus of gorilla ( Gorilla) families of hominids ( Hominidae). The name is given in honor German officer Friedrich Robert von Behring(1865-1940), who first discovered the animal in the Virunga mountains. The subspecies is critically endangered: estimated at the end of 2012, total mountain gorillas did not exceed 880 individuals.

area

Mountain gorillas have a very limited range in Central Africa around the Great Rift Valley. They live on the slopes of six extinct volcanoes, in an area about 40 km long and 3-19 km wide, at an altitude of 2200-4300 meters above sea level. There are only two small isolated populations. One is in the Virunga volcanic mountains at the junction of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda; the second population - in the southwest of Uganda in the area national park Bwindi impenetrable forest.

Structural features

This subspecies is the second largest among primates, surpassed only by the eastern lowland gorilla. On average, adult male mountain gorillas weigh up to 195 kg, with a height of 150 cm. Females are significantly inferior to males - about 100 kg with a height of 130 cm.

There are about 29 morphological differences between the eastern mountain gorilla and the eastern lowland gorilla, due to adaptation to life at different altitudes. The fur of mountain gorillas is thicker and longer than that of other species, which allows them to live in areas with cooler climates. Adult males have well-defined bony ridges on the top and back of the skull, giving their heads a more conical shape. These combs are used to fasten powerful chewing muscles. Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced. Like all gorillas, they have dark brown eyes framed with black rings around the iris.

Lifestyle

Mountain gorillas are mainly terrestrial, moving on all fours. However, they are good at climbing trees, especially young ones.

According to Diana (Diana) Fossey, they eat about 58 species of plants, but the basis of their diet is thistles, nettles, wild celery and bedstraw ( Galium). Leaves, shoots and stems make up about 86% of their diet, fruits account for no more than 2%. Also eaten: tree bark, roots, excrement, insect larvae and snails. Adult males can eat up to 34 kg of vegetation per day, while females eat no more than 18 kg.

History of study, protection and conservation of the species

In October 1902, Captain Robert von Beringe (1865–1940) shot dead two great monkeys during an expedition to establish the boundaries of German East Africa. The remains of one of these were sent to the Zoological Museum in Berlin, where Professor Paul Macchi (1861-1926) classified the animal as new form gorilla and named her Gorilla beringei.

Order - Primates / Suborder - Dry-nosed / Infraorder - Monkey-like / Parvoorder - narrow-nosed monkeys/ Superfamily - great apes/ Family - Hominid / Genus - Gorillas

History of study

Western gorilla (lat. Gorilla gorilla) is a species of primate from the genus Gorilla (Gorilla) of the hominin family (Hominidae).

Spreading

Western gorilla is common in Cameroon, Central African Republic, mainland Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Congo, Angola, and probably in Democratic Republic Congo.

They live in low-lying tropical forests, primarily with dense grassy vegetation and in wetlands.

Appearance

The western gorilla is a large primate. In males, the body reaches a length of up to 1.7 m, and the weight can reach up to 160 kg. Females are always smaller - their body is no more than 1.4 m and weighs up to 80 kg. These gorillas are the smallest of the gorilla genus. The head is large, with small ears. The eyes are small. The body is massive, without a tail, covered with dark, almost black hair. There is no hair on the limbs, as well as on the face and ears. Over time, hair begins to fall out on the back. Broad palms end in thick fingers with strong nails. The skin is colored black throughout the life of a gorilla. Gorillas move on all fours, although they often stand upright.

reproduction

Pregnancy in a female gorilla lasts about 9 months. She can only have one baby, which she carries on her back. Having matured, he begins to move along with the group on his own, but his mother takes care of him until he is five years old. Sexual maturity in western gorillas occurs at 12 years of age. Their average life expectancy is about 34 years.

Lifestyle

Western gorillas live in groups of 2 to 20 individuals. The group includes at least one male and several females with offspring. The dominant male leads the group. The young leave it after reaching puberty.

Females move from one group to another during the breeding season.

The distance they travel varies from one to four kilometers. The habitat area is about 30 km², but gorillas are not very active in protecting it. They are able to use tools.

Food

Western gorillas feed exclusively on plant foods. Although their diet mainly consists of fruits and fruits, gorillas also eat young succulent shoots, leaves and aquatic vegetation. With the help of the simplest tools - sticks, they dig up edible underground parts of plants. In search of food sources, they daily overcome up to four kilometers through difficult terrain - swampy, densely grassed plains and low tropical forests. Western gorillas cannot swim. The area of ​​the territory occupied by one group of gorillas reaches 30 square meters. km.

population

The International Union for Conservation of Nature categorizes western gorillas as CR (Critically Endangered). Ebola haemorrhagic fever reduced their numbers in protected areas by one-third between 1992 and 2007.

In the 1980s, the number of western gorillas in Equatorial Africa was about 100,000 individuals. Today, the population has dwindled to 50,000. Studies conducted in 2006-2007 indicate that about 100,000 unrecorded western gorillas live in the swamp forests around Lake Tele, in the Republic of the Congo. The most likely number of western gorillas is around 150,000-200,000 individuals.

The population of river gorillas is approximately 280 individuals concentrated in approximately 11 locations. Recent genetic studies suggest that these sites are associated with random migrations of individual gorillas. River gorillas are separated from the range of the lowland gorilla by 250 km. A conservation plan for this subspecies was developed in 2007. The Government of Cameroon specifically for this purpose created national park on the border with Nigeria. About 115 river gorillas live in the park.

Western gorilla and man

Poaching, commercial logging and civil wars in countries where gorillas live are also threats.