The Gorilla: Man’s closest cousin, who is on the verge of extinction

 

Amazing gorilla facts
1. Gorillas are the largest living primates - the family of animals that includes monkeys, apes and humans. A mature male gorilla can be over 6 feet tall and weigh 300 to 500 pounds (136Kgs - 226Kgs). He can spread his arms eight feet across and is as strong as four to eight strong men. Adult female gorillas are about half the size of the males.

2. Like humans, gorillas have two legs and two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, small ears on the side of the head, forward-looking eyes and 32 teeth. Unlike us, their arms are longer and more muscular than their legs, and their big toes look like thumbs. Their bodies are covered by thick dark hair, except on the face, chest, underarms, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. An adult male gorillas becomes a “silverback” at about age 15 when he is full grown and the hair on his back turns silvery-gray.

3. Gorillas normally walk by putting their feet flat and walking on the knuckles of their hands. They can stand upright, but they don’t do it very often. When they do, it is often to “chest slap.” Gorillas do not beat their chests with their fists but with open cupped hands, making the familiar loud sound which can indicate aggression or excitement.

4. Gorillas can live more than 50 years. Newborn gorillas are very small, weighing only about 4 1/2 pounds (two kgs). They are helpless at birth and depend on their mothers for at least three years, and they usually stay in their family group as they grow up. Females mature at 10 to 12 years and males at 11 to 13 years. Young gorillas must learn from their group how to find food, make nests, take care of babies and get along with other gorillas.

5. Gorillas communicate with each other by using gestures, body postures, facial expressions, vocal sounds, chest slaps, drumming and odors. Although they cannot make the sounds of human speech, gorillas are capable of understanding spoken languages and they can learn to communicate in sign language.

6. Gorillas are very intelligent, and they share with us a full range of emotions: love, hate, fear, grief, joy, greed, generosity, pride, shame, empathy, and jealousy. They laugh when they are tickled and cry when they are sad or hurt. Gorillas cry with sounds, not tears.

8. Gorillas sleep about 13 hours each night and rest for several hours at midday. They build new sleeping nests every night by bending nearby plants into a springy platform, usually on the ground or in low trees. When not resting they spend most of their time looking for food and eating it. They eat mostly plant foods: leaves, shoots, fruits, bulbs, bark, vines and nettles. They also eat ants, termites, grubs, worms and insect larvae.

9. There are three types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain gorillas. The names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Mountain gorillas are the most critically endangered, with conservative estimates of only 400 to 600 living at this time.

Threats
 
Habitat Loss
Gorillas live in one of the most densely populated regions of Africa. Conversion of land for agriculture and competition for limited natural resources such as firewood lead to varying degrees of deforestation.

Disease
Since gorillas are our cousins and we share DNA, they can get some of our diseases that can be devastating to their population. A cold can kill a gorilla.

Poaching
Poaching continues to jeopardise the gorillas’ survival. Gorillas can get caught in snares, which are set to catch other wildlife but occasionally kill or injure gorillas. Recent events have shown that hunting of mountain gorillas in order to capture babies remains a very real threat.

Armed conflict
The region’s ongoing conflict and civil unrest are an ever-present risk. Illegal mining in DRC has had a devastating effect on wildlife.

Oil and gas exploration
European oil and gas companies have been granted exploration concession in Virunga National Park, where some of DRC’s mountain gorilla population lives. While the habitat does not currently fall within an oil concession, development in the park could negatively affect the animals’ security.