Eastern lowland gorilla Gorilla beringei graueri. Gorilla - the mighty ape Gorilla habitat

Gorilla- the largest of the anthropoid monkeys - endowed with developed intelligence and a calm, peaceful disposition. Possessing enormous physical strength, gorillas resort to it only in the most extreme cases.

HABITAT

Gorillas live in dense and humid tropical forests. All subspecies are represented in small populations and are found only within the boundaries of national parks. The lowland gorilla thrives both in virgin jungles and in secondary forests that have grown on old clearings or abandoned fields: the main thing for it is the presence of dense undergrowth. The native home of mountain gorillas is tropical forests growing on the volcanic soils of the Virunga massif, where these animals can be found at altitudes of up to 4100 m.

SECURITY

The gorilla population is very small. Clearing the jungle for cropland or for timber is destroying the habitat of these primates. Today, there are about 45,000 western coast gorillas, 4,000 eastern lowland gorillas and about 500 mountain gorillas left in the wild. All three subspecies are protected by law, but the animals are often victims of poachers who sell gorilla heads and arms as souvenirs. Many primates are captured for sale to zoos and private menageries. Preferring to hunt defenseless cubs, hunters mercilessly kill their mothers, since otherwise it is impossible to take the babies away from them. Exotic lovers often buy young gorillas without realizing that the animal can be dangerous. However, it is also impossible to release it: a cub raised in captivity is not adapted to life in the wild. When defending itself or its cubs, the gorilla becomes aggressive and rushes to attack with a menacingly bared mouth.

LIFESTYLE

Gorillas live in small family groups, which usually consist of an adult male leader and several females with cubs. Family ties within the group are very strong. Showing their affection for the dominant male, females vie with each other to clean his fur coat during the midday rest hours. As soon as the first rays of the sun touch the nests woven from branches, the whole family wakes up, at the signal of the leader, leaves the place where they spend the night and goes together in search of breakfast. During the hike, the primates leisurely walk in single file, leaning on all four paws and grabbing the treats they like along the way. Adult gorillas rarely climb trees, as even thick branches break under their impressive weight. If during a day's march an open clearing is encountered on the group's path, the leader is the first to cross to the other side, and only then calls the others to follow him. It takes gorillas a good half day to feed. To satisfy the needs of their powerful body, these convinced vegetarians daily consume huge amounts of greenery - leaves, fruits, wild celery and parsley, nettles, the bark of some types of trees and shrubs, collecting food with their hands. The favorite delicacy of gorillas is young bamboo shoots. At midday it's a blissful siesta time, when you can brush your fur, take a nap or play with the kids. Towards evening, preparations begin for the night. Each member of the family builds a den from branches, lined with grass and leaves. Adult gorillas build nests on the ground, and juveniles sometimes roost on the lower branches of trees. The round nest is designed so that its owner does not fall out in his sleep, and is disposable: every evening the monkey builds a new den. Gorillas communicate using a rich set of sounds, facial expressions and gestures. To scare away a rival and attract the attention of a female friend, the male performs ritual gestures, accompanying them with special sounds. Having announced himself with loud cries, the primate energetically picks off bunches of leaves and brings them to his mouth, and then, standing up to his full height, begins to pull out plants with roots and throw them into the air. In the finale, the gentleman pounds himself in the chest with his fists, walks back and forth and again pulls out the plants. The show of force ends with a resounding slam of the palm onto the ground.

REPRODUCTION

A female gorilla gives birth to her first cub at the age of 10, and the next ones at intervals of 3.5-4.5 years. Females come into heat at any time of the year. During the leisurely act of mating, partners show each other gentle signs of attention. After less than 9 months of pregnancy, the female will give birth to one cub weighing about 1.5 kg, covered with wavy fur. During the first days, the mother is forced to support her child’s heavy head, since he cannot hold it himself. The cub is constantly with the mother and after a few days rides around on her back or hangs under her belly, tightly gripping her fur with her paws. Until 4 months, the baby feeds on milk and, under the watchful supervision of the mother, learns to walk and climb trees. At the fifth month of life, the cub begins to pluck greenery and learns to recognize edible plants, and at 8.5 months it is already able to stand upright. If milk feeding has not yet stopped, the cub spends the night in the same nest with its mother. Usually, the eldest cub is weaned before the next birth. From this moment on, the young gorilla sleeps in its nest, although it builds it next to its mother’s.

In the event of the death of the female, the leader takes all care of the orphaned cub, showing no less patience and affection than the mother. Young gorillas love to play with their peers and often involve their elders in their fun. Having reached sexual maturity by 6-9 years, females can remain in their group or leave. Males that mature by 7-11 years leave their native group and live alone for several years. Only at the age of 15 does a male make an attempt to seize power in an alien group or attract females to himself in order to start his own family. Having defeated the old leader, the new owner kills all his cubs. Females deprived of offspring go into heat, and the young male can take care of the continuation of his lineage.

DID YOU KNOW?

A free-living gorilla never drinks water, content with the liquid obtained from succulent food. By the way, gorillas cannot swim at all and are even afraid of water. Gorillas do not know fear, but aggression is also alien to them. When two family groups meet, the leaders limit themselves to demonstrating their strength, although sometimes fights occur, especially when a stranger claims to be the head of the family.

The birth of twins among gorillas is very rare. If this happens, the female is unable to produce two babies, and only one cub survives, and sometimes both die.

SUBSPECTS

Zoologists distinguish three subspecies of gorillas, differing slightly from each other in size, build, as well as the length and color of their fur.

Most numerous western coast gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) inhabits the lowland forests of West Africa. Its characteristic features are thick grayish-brown fur and faint ridges around the nostrils. In males, the silver saddle can reach the buttocks and go down to the thighs.

Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri), which lives in the lowland forests of the central regions of the continent, has a more dense build, and the silver saddle covers only the back of the male. The face of primates of this subspecies is more elongated with pronounced nostril ridges.

Third subspecies - mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) lives in the mountain forests of the Virunga massif, in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Uganda and Rwanda. Its jet-black fur is thicker than that of other subspecies, its face is short and wide, and its nose wings are almost round. Sometimes the mountain gorilla is considered as an independent species.

Western coast gorilla found in Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Eastern lowland gorilla lives in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Over the past 20 years (for the eastern mountain gorilla this is one generation), the number of the subspecies has dropped significantly. 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, during this period the population of the subspecies will decrease by 50%. Despite the fact that the reasons for such negative events are quite clear and well studied, the situation is not easy to change. The region where gorillas live is an area of political instability. The local population is growing rapidly every year, but adopted laws are not always observed. In modern times, hunting of eastern mountain gorillas has become more widespread than during the ethnic wars. Mountain gorillas often become infected with severe infectious diseases from people, domestic animals, and other wild animals. In this area there is active grazing of livestock, as well as illegal logging. Nevertheless, researchers are trying to make observations, making every effort to save the rare and endangered subspecies.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

The eastern mountain gorilla lives on the slopes of volcanic mountains in the territories of and Congo. Animals prefer to settle in forests with thick grassy litter.

There are two small subpopulations isolated from each other. One of them is located in the Bwindi National Park.

HOW TO FIND OUT

The appearance of the eastern mountain gorilla is impressive. Tall, stocky build, large, slightly elongated head, broad chest, long legs are some of her characteristic external features. Male eastern gorillas are much larger than females: a male can weigh up to 220 kg, while females are almost twice as light. Body length ranges from 130 to 185 cm. The black color of the thick, dense coat has a blue tint. Adult males have a wide, clearly visible silver stripe on their backs. The skin on the face, chest, palms and feet is bare.

LIFESTYLE AND BIOLOGY

Eastern mountain gorillas live in groups consisting of a dominant male, subordinate females and their offspring. Such families can be quite large, up to 35 individuals. Family groups do not have protected territories, but they can be aggressive towards each other when they meet. Females reach sexual maturity at 10, and males at 15 years. Several years before this period, females, as a rule, leave the parental family in order to create their own. They can join an already formed group or form a pair with a single male. Young males, having left their parents, are in no hurry to start a family. They spend about four to five years alone, experiencing life on their own, and only then make efforts to procreate. Pregnancy lasts about eight and a half months. Unfortunately, a female can only give birth to a baby once every three to four years. Being a very caring mother, she devotes most of her time to caring for her previous child. She diligently protects him from any kind of danger. If she sees a potential threat to the life of the cub, then she uses all the “weapons”, ranging from aggressive screams and the famous blows to herself in the chest and ending with the use of physical force.

Animals are active mainly during the day and can go for food in the early morning or in the evening twilight. At night they sleep right on the ground, having previously built some kind of nest from vegetation and settled comfortably in it.

Breastfeeding lasts an average of three and a half years, and during this time the baby is highly dependent on the mother. The average lifespan of the species is 40-50 years.

The diet is rich and varied. These are predominantly herbivorous primates that consume only small amounts of animal food, and even then in limited quantities. Gorillas feed on ripe fruits, seeds, leaves, bark, wood, mushrooms and occasionally invertebrates.

The animals received their specific Latin name in honor of the German officer Friedrich Robert von Behringe. It was he who first discovered these primates in the Virunga Mountains.

The second subspecies, the eastern lowland gorilla, is less endangered, although it is also listed in the Red Book. Its protection category is EN, and its population is about 5 thousand individuals.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Kingdom: Animalia.
Phylum: Chordata.
Class: Mammals (Mammalia).
Order: Primates.
Family: Hominidae.
Genus: Gorillas (Gorilla beringei).
Species: Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei).
Subspecies: Eastern mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei).

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Often in non-documentary films, the gorilla appears before us in the form of a formidable animal, beating its chest with a militant roar and ready to pounce at any moment. In fact, these large monkeys are very peaceful and non-conflicting. With correct behavior, you can approach them at a distance of up to 3-4 meters.

The scientific world distinguishes 2 species of gorillas, and each of them has two more subspecies. These are: the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei). All of them live in African tropical forests located in the western and central parts of the continent.

Gorilla habitats. The habitat of the eastern gorilla is indicated in yellow, and the western gorilla in orange.

Gorillas are rightfully recognized as the largest representatives of the primate order. Thus, the average height of an adult male is approximately 170-180 cm, but 2-meter individuals are also found. Their weight can reach more than 250 kg. Not every branch or even tree can support such a large animal. Therefore, for the most part, males live on the ground. They climb trees only in rare cases, for example, to pick up younger leaves or fruits and nuts that they like. Females are almost 2 times smaller and lighter than males.

Any bodybuilder can envy the developed muscles and strength of a gorilla. They spend most of their time and move on all fours, although they can stand and even walk perfectly well on their hind legs. Gorillas are distinguished from other apes by one feature that can also be seen in chimpanzees - when walking on all fours, they rely not on the pads of their fingers and palms, but on the back of the bent fingers on their front paws. This is done in order to protect the sensitive skin on the feet.

Bent toes on front paws

The male gorilla’s menacing appearance is given not only by his size, but also by his large conical head, as well as thick, dark, almost black, fur. Adult males can be easily recognized by the silvery stripe that runs along the entire back and partially affects the hind legs. Particularly long hair is observed in mountain gorillas. It saves them well from the cold and harsh climate of these habitats.

Conical head

The structure of the hands of these monkeys is adapted for collecting food and building nests - the thumb is shorter than the others and most often is opposed to them (look at your palm - this will become a clear example).

Gorillas live in small groups, which most often consist of 3-5 individuals, but their number can reach 30. This is a leader male, one or more females and their cubs. All members of the pack unanimously obey the oldest and strongest male. It is he who determines the entire daily routine: when to eat, play, run errands, take a walk and even go to bed.

Their daily routine begins with waking up and morning feeding, which lasts about 2 hours and gradually flows into lunch. During the hottest time of the day, their activity decreases. At this time, the following picture can be observed: well-fed and satisfied gorillas, in particular females with cubs, gather and lie not far from the leader.

Some are dozing at this time, others are cleaning the fur of their cubs or themselves, but not of their “neighbors” in the group or the male. At the same time, the young frolic nearby, playing or exploring the nearby surroundings.

Baby gorilla playing

Sometimes quarrels can occur between females, which subside after a short “verbal” skirmish. The leader prefers to remain on the sidelines at these moments. Having rested, everyone goes in search of a new place where their lunch will smoothly flow into dinner, and where the construction of a temporary nest for the night is not far off.

They go to sleep where night finds them. First, the male begins to prepare for sleep, building a large nest for himself on the ground, consisting of branches and trampled grass. Other members of the group follow his example. Females with cubs sometimes climb trees. With the arrival of darkness, all movement and commotion in the group ceases.

Gorillas are vegetarians. They feed mostly on grass and leaves (nettle, wild celery, young bamboo shoots, etc.), with all kinds of fruits coming in second place. Animal food is consumed in rare cases. They get all the moisture they need from juicy greens.

Gorilla babies are born every 3-5 years. Each female brings only one cub, which is entirely dependent on the mother for the first few years of life. She will take him where he needs to go, and feed him, and clean him, and punish and caress the offenders. And even after he grows up (at 3-4 years old), you can sometimes see how a mother shows care for her now adult child.

Family

Baby gorilla sleeps on mother's back

Puberty in males begins a little later than in females - at 11-13 years (in females - at 10-12 years). The duration of pregnancy is 8.5 months. Males treat their cubs well, but do not often show fatherly care. There is a mother for this case.

As for talking about the aggression of gorillas, everything is debatable. In fact, gorillas are considered to be quite calm and peaceful creatures. Real fierce fights rarely occur between males, ending with sad consequences. Most often, such meetings are resolved by noisy demonstrations of force in the form of loud growls and attacks on the enemy, ending with sudden stops in front of him, standing on his hind legs and beating his chest. The male will not attack until the enemy takes flight, but even in this case he will only bite the fleeing enemy on the leg or other rear part of the body. But it's not fatal.

When encountering gorillas in the wild, you should never immediately run away. The male will perceive this as the beginning of an attack. They advise you to freeze in place, get on all fours and lower your head down. This will mean confirmation of your submission. This is quite enough for the male to calm down.

Now in the world of gorillas there are about 16-17 thousand individuals, but one of the subspecies - the eastern mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) consists of only 600 individuals. They are listed in the International Red Book and are also protected by the Wildlife Fund and many other environmental organizations. These animals feel great and reproduce well in captivity; the main thing is to provide them with comfortable living conditions.

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordates

Class: Mammals

Squad: Primates

Family: Hominids

Genus: Gorillas

Spreading

The most numerous subspecies is the western coast 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 United States in Liberia. He did not see the giant primate alive, but made a description based on the skull and bones that came 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 silvery fur is found 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 wide, the wings of the nose have a rounded shape.

Biological description and characteristics

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

To get enough food, 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 build and also has strong and well-developed muscles.. The body is covered with dark and fairly thick hair. Adult males are distinguished by the presence of a clearly visible silver stripe on their 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 special feature is the massive and protruding jaw, as well as a powerful supraorbital ridge. On the top of the head there is a kind of pillow, which is formed by a leathery thickening and connective tissue.

The gorilla's body has a characteristic shape: the width of the abdomen exceeds the width of the chest, which is due to the large digestive system necessary for the efficient digestion of significant quantities 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 movement on all fours is still natural. When walking, the gorilla does not rest its forelimbs on the pads of its toes. The support is provided by the outer side of the bent fingers, which helps preserve the thin and sensitive skin on the inside of the hand.

Gorilla: the history of the discovery of the species

2,400 years ago, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno brought strange news from his trip to the shores of West Africa. He reported on wild, hairy men and women whom the translator called "gorillas." The 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 Hanno 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 ever met the “hairy forest people” in Africa, no one heard anything about them. And even medieval geographers, who easily believed in people “with dog heads” and in headless Lemnia with eyes on their chests, began to doubt the real existence of gorillas. Little by little, the opinion became established among naturalists that the legendary gorillas were just chimpanzees, “exaggerated” by rumor. And by this time chimpanzees 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 Bethel was captured by the Portuguese. He lived for eighteen years in Africa, near Angola. Bethel described his life in the wild country in the essay “The Amazing Adventures of Andrei Bethel,” published in a collection of travels in 1625. Bethel talks about two huge monkeys - engeko and pongo. Yengeko is a chimpanzee, but Pongo is undoubtedly a gorilla. Pongo looks like a human, but he doesn’t even know how to throw a log on the fire. This monster is a real giant. Armed with a club, he kills people and hunts... elephants. It is impossible to catch a living pongo, and finding 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 in the existence of gorillas at that time. Among the “believers” was the famous French scientist Buffon. He admitted that Bethel's stories may have a basis in reality. But the “non-believers” considered the hairy ape-like people to be an impossible chimera, like those absurd monsters that adorn the pediments of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

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 in Boston. This was the first reliable description of the lifestyle and appearance of gorillas. Thus, already at the end of the 19th century, European science knew that in the tropical forests of Central Africa there lived a large ape, the size of which exceeded the size of a chimpanzee, which was called a gorilla.

Gorilla species

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

Western gorilla

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

There is dark hair on the body, except for the head and limbs. The frontal part has a brown-yellowish or gray-yellowish coloration. The nose with large nostrils has a characteristic overhanging tip. Eyes and ears are small. The hands have large nails and large fingers.

Western gorillas are united in groups, the composition of which can vary from two individuals to two dozen individuals, of which at least one is male, as well as females with young animals. Sexually mature individuals, as a rule, leave the group and, leaving their parents, remain completely alone for some time. A characteristic feature is the transition of females at the breeding stage from group to group. The gestation period lasts on average 260 days, as a result of which one baby is born, cared for by its parents until about three to four years of age.

Eastern gorilla

Distributed throughout 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 wide chest and long lower limbs. The nose has a flat shape and large nostrils.

The hair 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, with age, a clearly visible, noble grayish color appears.

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 lonely 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 they independently create a new family.

Lifestyle

Gorillas live in family groups, including females, their cubs and one (rarely several) adult male. The male defends his group from predators and other males. In the latter case, the male, as a rule, is limited to only demonstrating force, without using it in practice. The demonstration of force occurs like this: the male rushes at the enemy, stopping sharply in front of him, often getting up from all fours to his feet and hitting himself in the chest with his fists, while trying to escape, he catches up and bites (usually once - “to discourage him”, but the gorillas never again necessary, with fangs 5 cm). Because of the latter feature, in some African tribes, being bitten by a gorilla was a disgrace, indicating that a person had chickened out and ran away.

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

As they grow older, the color of the fur on the male’s back changes – from black to silver. Family groups are usually led by males with silver-colored fur on their backs. Male gorillas, as a rule, leave their native group upon reaching puberty.

In the morning, gorillas eat, after which they leisurely walk through the forest. At noon, the gorillas have a siesta - some build nests for the siesta, the rest simply lie on the ground. At this time, mothers clean the fur of their cubs, adults and older cubs check and clean each other's skin, but less actively and carefully than other primates.

First, the male builds a nest for sleeping, and other members of the group follow his example. Because of its large weight, the male builds a ground nest by stacking branches and bending grass stems inward at different angles. The rest sometimes spend the night in trees. At night the whole group sleeps.

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

Nutrition

Gorillas spend most of the day feeding, eating mainly leaves, young shoots and fruits. Between feedings, they wander 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 down for the night in the same place where it ate before. By bending thin branches, gorillas build individual nests in the form of elastic floorings on the ground or on a tree. The size of the area where the family feeds, moves and sleeps varies from 5 to 30 km 2.

Reproduction

Gorillas live in relatively stable groups of 5 to 30 animals. In such a group there may be one adult male with a silverback (“silverback”) - the leader, 1-2 immature males, 3-6 adult females over 8 years old, related by marital ties to the leader, and 3-10 cubs of different ages. (Interestingly, studies in recent years have shown that about a third of family groups include 2 adult males). Adult females in a harem are usually not related and the social ties between them are very weak, so the family group is held together not by them, but by the connections of each female with a silverback male.

Females give birth approximately once every 6-8 years. The newborn weighs 1.8-2 kg and is absolutely helpless. He begins to crawl after about 9 weeks, and walk at 30-40 weeks. For the first 8 months he feeds exclusively on mother's milk, but sometimes his mother feeds him until he is three years old. If a young female remains in her home group, her mother's support is important for her much later, when she has her own child.

Females reach sexual maturity at 7-8 years, males at 10, but young gorillas begin to breed much later (males no earlier than 15-20 years). Three quarters of young females and half of males leave the family group into which they were born. Females usually end up in the group of a neighboring silverback, but do not necessarily stay with him forever. Young males who leave their group are forced to wander alone or with other males for some time, and sometimes years pass until they manage to acquire females from other groups and create their own harem. If this finally happens, the male usually remains there for the rest of his life. It must be said that his life is very turbulent, since quite often strange males try to take his females, and he has to stand up for them.

Natural enemies of gorilla

In their natural habitat, large monkeys have practically no enemies. Its 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.

Thus, The only enemy for the gorilla is man, 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 has been very widespread in recent years, and is carried out with the aim of obtaining quite valuable fur and skulls. Baby gorillas are captured in large quantities and then sold to private individuals or to numerous pet zoos.

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

Why is it listed in the Red Book?

Despite the fact that the reasons for such negative events are quite clear and well studied, the situation is not easy to change. The region where gorillas live is an area of political instability. The local population is growing rapidly every year, but adopted laws are not always observed. In modern times, hunting of eastern mountain gorillas has become more widespread than during the ethnic wars. Mountain gorillas often become infected with severe infectious diseases from people, domestic animals, and other wild animals.

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

Gorillas are the largest representatives of the primate order.
Gorilla DNA is very similar to human DNA - 95-99%.
They are the next closest relative to humans after the two chimpanzee species; all hominids descended from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.
There are now more than 100,000 western lowland gorillas in the wild and another 4,000 in zoos.
There are about 4,000 eastern lowland gorillas in the wild, but only 24 in zoos.
Mountain gorillas are the most endangered, with only about 620 left in the wild and none in zoos.
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 rest on their palms and the pads of their front paws, as all other animals do, but on the back of their bent fingers. This method of walking allows you to preserve fairly thin sensitive skin on the inside of your hand.
Gorillas and chimpanzees use this method of movement, along with anteaters and platypuses.
An adult male reaches 1.65-1.75 m in height with a shoulder width of about a meter and weighs 140-200 kg.
The cub is completely dependent on its mother, who feeds it, carries it, protects it and emotionally supports it until the age of three, when it becomes an independent member of the group.
The lifespan of gorillas is 30-50 years, although there were also “long-livers”.
When darkness falls, all activity ceases and the group goes to bed.
In gorilla families, quarrels occur mainly between females. When a family group of gorillas is attacked, the males come to the defense. Aggression most often comes down 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.
Gorillas do not have to drink - the juicy greens already contain enough moisture. Ponds and water in general are avoided whenever possible, and rain is not liked.

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

Order - Primates / Suborder - Dry-nosed monkeys / Infraorder - Apes / Parvoorder - Narrow-nosed apes / Superfamily - Apes / Family - Hominids / Genus - Gorillas

History of the study

The eastern gorilla (lat. Gorilla beringei) is a species of primate from the genus Gorilla (Gorilla) of the family Hominidae. The specific name is given in honor of the German officer Friedrich Robert von Behringe (1865-1940), who first discovered the animal in the Virunga Mountains.

Spreading

Eastern gorillas are distributed in lowland and mountainous subalpine forests in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in southwestern Uganda, Rwanda and in the area between the Lualaba River and lakes Edward and Tanganyika. They prefer forests with dense grassy litter.

Appearance

This species of gorilla is larger than its western relatives. Adult males reach up to more than 200 kg with a body size of over 1.8 m, female eastern gorillas are smaller - their body size is over 1.5 m and weigh up to 115 kg. This species has a broad chest, a large head with small ears, a flat nose, large nostrils, and longer legs. Tremendous power emanates from its powerful appearance. Their fur is almost black; With age she turns grey. Adult males have a silver stripe running along their back. The entire body of a gorilla is covered with fur. The exceptions are the chest, feet, and palms.

Reproduction

Pregnancy occurs in females once every 3–4 years and lasts almost nine months. The cub is always alone. Lactation lasts 3.5 years. Young eastern gorillas undergo long-term upbringing and training in a group. Males become sexually mature only at 15 years of age, and females at 10. Gorillas live more than 40 years.

Lifestyle

They live in family groups consisting of a dominant male, his females and cubs. The group size is larger than that of western gorillas, with an average of 35 individuals. The boundaries of the territory are not guarded, but skirmishes may occur when one group meets another.

Females move from their natal group to another before the mating period. This usually occurs around the age of 8 years. They often join lone males and create a new group. Males leave the family they grew up with at 11 years of age. They spend a lot of time living alone, and start their own family at the age of 15 and older.

Nutrition

Eastern gorillas are not complete vegetarians like Western gorillas: in addition to plant foods, their diet also includes insects, spiders, beetle larvae and mushrooms. The plant diet consists of the bark of trees and shrubs, shoots, leaves, roots and even wood. Flowers, plant stems, and fruits are eaten. To get all this, gorillas have to move a lot through mountain alpine and lowland forests with dense grassy litter.

Number

Mountain gorillas live in two isolated subpopulations in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Virunga subpopulation was estimated at 380 individuals in 2003, an increase of 60 individuals since 1989. However, this increase was limited to only one group of gorillas, which are found in a more protected and ecologically rich area. Although subpopulations in Bwindi National Park were thought to have increased, from 300 to 320 gorillas between 1997 and 2003, a count in 2006 showed that there were only 300 apes in the park. The total population size in all four groups is 680 gorillas. Mountain gorillas are found in areas with very high population densities.

The eastern lowland gorilla population in 1995 was estimated at approximately 16,900 animals. It has declined sharply in the last decade. The area of distribution of this subspecies is 21,600 km², which is 25% less than in 1969.

Eastern gorilla and man

They can become infected with viral diseases from people and pets. The subspecies was greatly influenced by political instability in the area of the Virunga volcano. Illegal grazing and deforestation for logging and agricultural land continue.

Agriculture is an essential factor for the survival of eastern lowland gorillas. Current political instability and the killing of gorillas for meat are exacerbating the problem of protecting them.