Gorillas are They Under Too Much Pressure to Survive

Gorillas are huge, quiet, gentle apes that live in Africa. Although gorillas are often portrayed as killers, they are really shy, peaceful vegetarians.

Due to hugh reduction in habitat, these beautiful animals are in increasing danger of extinction.

There are 3 subspecies of gorillas living in different parts of Africa. The differences between them are difficult to see, the 3 subspecies are.

· Western Lowland Gorilla (gorilla gorilla)
· Eastern Lowland Gorilla (gorilla graueri)
· Mountain Gorilla (gorilla berengei)

Like many differences between animal species the differences between the mountain and lowland gorilla are the result of their changing to the environment they live in, the high altitude of the mountain gorilla necessitate longer body hair for added heat retention, higher foreheads, larger nostrils to aid more effective breathing at high altitudes, broader chests to enclose the larger lungs, they also have shorter arms, shorter, wider hands and feet possibly as a result there being less dense forest at the higher altitude.

Extensive efforts have been made to guarantee the survival of the gorilla in the wild but the loss of habitat and poaching is a cause of grave concern, gorilla numbers are only approximate but the 3 species have only 15,000 – 30,000 animals surviving.

The breakdown between species is along the lines of

Western gorillas- A total of approximately 10,000-25,000 in Nigeria, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, and Zaire.

Eastern gorillas – A total of approximately 4,000, in eastern Zaire.

Mountain gorillas – A total of approximately 620 in 285, and reducing all the time, square miles in the rain forests of Rwanda, Uganda and Zaire.

Gorillas are social animals in as much as they live in social groups of 3-25, in a typical group you will find a dominant mature silverback and he is the alpha male of the group, there are three – four adult females, 1 immature silverback, an immature male and 3-6 youngsters below the age of 8.

To avoid conflict within the group the males usually leave after sexual maturity and start their own group, although from time to time a challenge is made to the domonant silverback for dominance of the group, this can lead to one of the gorillas being driven out of the group.

The gorillas only predator is us, this should be good news because you would reason that we would say lets protect these amazing animals and help them survive but the problem is we are decimating the habitat they are living in and poachers are murdering them too.

Some dedicated groups are attempting to help stop this, money is the main driver behind the clearance of the habitats, so using the land for echo tourism is a great way to convince the local populations to preserve the land and animals that live on it.

What eco tourism aims to do is help people to see the gorillas and other animals in their own habitat and educate and inspire these visitors to spread the word about the amazing experience and the danger these gorillas are in.