Western Lowland Gorilla

Description:

"While gorillas are the largest of all apes, western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are the smallest of the three gorilla subspecies. The great apes also include the chimpanzee, bonobos and the orangutan. Male gorillas stand about 5-1/2 feet tall and weigh around 300-450 pounds; females are only half the weight of males. Western lowland gorillas are found in the tropical rainforests of West Africa, including southwest Nigeria, Cameroon, Rio Muni, Gabon and eastern Congo. Eastern lowland gorillas inhabit lowland forests over 625 miles away in eastern DR Congo. Mountain gorillas, the best known and most often studied race, are only found among the Virunga volcanoes of extreme northeastern DR Congo, western Uganda and northern Rwanda. They live on mountain floors and secondary forests with damp, hot climates, similar to a South Carolina summer. Gorillas are diurnal (active in the daytime) animals, living in groups of up to 30 with a single dominant male silverback. The groups, called troops, are well integrated and peaceful. Social grooming is common amongst troop and family members. Only silverbacks mate with females. Young silverbacks, known as bachelors, leave the group and live alone until they can coax away females of their own to form a troop. Females may move from group to group, but never live alone. Males nest on the ground, and females and their young nest on platforms built less than 10 feet from the ground. All gorillas, regardless of subspecies, are considered Endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and wild born gorillas are banned from international trade by CITES (Conference on International Trade of Endangered Species). Under CITES, they are considered to be Appendix I species and therefore receive the highest level of international protection. Between 30,000 and 50,000 gorillas are estimated to remain in the wild."

Notes:

Captive individual at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia.