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  about gorillas

"No one can look into a gorilla's eye - intelligent, gentle, vulnerable can remain unchanged, for the gap between ape and human vanishes, we know that the gorilla still lives within us."
George B Schaller (Oct 1995)
"Gentle Gorillas, Turbulent Times"


There are two distinct species of gorilla, separated geographically by the inner Congo Basin in Central Africa, to the south of the River Congo. Each species is divided in to two separate sub species. Eastern gorillas are divided in to the Eastern lowland gorilla and Mountain gorilla, and Western gorillas are divided into Western lowland gorillas and Cross River gorillas. All four sub-species are endangered, three of them critically so.

Gorillas, like humans, are great apes large, tailless primates that can use their hands to gather food and make nests. In fact, gorillas are very like us, 98% genetically like us to be exact. They live in family groups of between eight and 11 individuals, consisting of a dominant silverback male, three or four adult females and their offspring. The adults spend most of their day eating and resting, while the youngsters enjoy to climb and play. Their diet consists of mainly fruit, shoots and leaves and in the rainforest environment in which they live they are never too far away from their next meal.
go to: Tshiaberimu gorillas >>
gorilla facts
Name: Gorillla beringei grauri
Number Remaining: Fewer than 5000
Where they live: Democratic Republic of Congo
Characteristics: Like all gorillas, Eastern Lowland gorillas have a broad chest and shoulders, a large head and a hairy shiny black face. A full-grown male can weigh up to 220kg, and can be distinguished from the Mountain gorilla by its slightly narrower body and face and its noticeably rounder nostrils.
Status: Endangered (IUCN Red List: A4abcd version 3.1)
Population  
Main Threats: Illegal mining, war, encroachment and lack of legal habitat protection
 

Eastern Lowland gorillas only remain in DR Congo, a country plagued by war, political instability and natural disasters. Like Mountain gorillas, Eastern Lowland gorillas suffer terribly from habitat loss, but in some areas this loss is magnified by the illegal mining industry or by the lack of legal protection for the gorilla habitat.
 
Mt Tshiaberimu gorillas
In 1996 a small isolated population of gorillas was found living at Mt Tshiaberimu, a small isolated annex in the northern region of the Virunga National Park. The population was facing imminent extinction, threatened by activities such as mining, hunting and the collection of firewood. In rapid decline and ignored by many, the Gorilla Organization pledged to protect this tiny group of gorillas and the habitat. Now, twelve years on, this work is paying off and this precious group of gorillas, now has twenty individuals and is on the up.
 
The Mt Tshiaberimu gorillas are morphologically different to the Eastern Lowland gorillas found elsewhere and may yet be reclassified as a distinct sub-species, Gorilla beringei rex-pygmaeorum. They are currently officially classified as Gorilla beringei graueri.