Great apes, gorillas seem to have evolved from lesser apes nearly
twenty million years ago. They are currently divided variously into
species and subspecies, though four distinct subspecies seem to be
somewhat agreed upon: Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla Beringei Beringei),
Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Diehli), Western Lowland Gorilla
(Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) and Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla Beringei
Graueri).
Physical features vary amongst subspecies with Mountain
Gorillas being the largest and hairiest of the four. They also are the
darkest in color. Lowland Gorillas have longer arms and lighter
coloration, being in the range of brown to gray in case of the Western
Lowland Gorilla. Males of the species are bigger with weight averaging
around four hundred pounds, though larger individuals of over five
hundred pounds have been recorded in the wild and more often in
captivity. Height is between five and a half to six feet. Females are
nearly half that size with an average body weight of two hundred pounds
and height generally under five feet. Overall body structure is bulky
in case of both genders and upper body is very well developed including
wide chest and strong shoulders with long and powerful limbs. Gorillas
have opposable thumbs and move on all fours in a form known as
knuckle-walking. The have been documented to use tools like chimps in
the wild. Head is big with a prominent sagittal crest and strong jaws,
including well developed canines. Eyes are small and brown and nose is
uniquely patterned like human finger prints.
Despite their
display in certain films and media as aggressive, dangerous beasts,
gorillas are totally harmless and calm animals. They live in small
groups headed by an adult male 'silverback' gorilla, named after a
saddle shaped pattern of silver hair on the back. Younger 'blackback'
males at times support the leader who makes all the choices regarding
foraging and eating. They live in tropical and subtropical forests in
equatorial Africa, usually occupying limited ranges of a few square
kilometers per tribe. They spend their day eating leaves, twigs,
fruits, branches, shoots, bamboos and even insects. Silverback leads
them to their daily place of feeding and also takes care to supervise
and protects its tribe. In case an intruder threatens to invade the
group's space, silverbacks show aggression through roaring, beating of
chest, breaking and throwing of bamboos and objects and charging.
Though gorillas can climb trees, they spend most of their time on the
ground. Every evening they prepare nests in which to spend their night.
These nests are distinct and enable researchers to accurately predict
the numbers of gorillas in a locality by simply counting of the nests.
Gorillas
are seen in countries of Central and West Africa. Mountain Gorillas are
seen at high altitudes in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and
Uganda. Lowland Gorillas reside in Angola, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Equatorial Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Democratic
Republic of Congo. Unfortunately unstable political climate and the war
like atmosphere of these parts has not been conductive towards the
great apes in the past and as a result, gorillas exist in small pockets
today on the map of Africa.
Maturity is reached in gorillas at
nearly ten years of age. Females give birth after every three to four
years, following a gestation period of near eight and a half months.
Mothers look after the young for up to three to four years. As
adulthood is reached, the young often move off to establish their own
families. Silverbacks are older than twelve years.
The author is a blogger about mammals and an expert on gorilla. |
