Gorilla Facts
- Gorillas possess 98% of the same nuclear DNA as humans
- There's a greater degree of difference between gorilla & chimp DNA in contrast to gorilla & human DNA
- Gorillas are the biggest primate (note humans are primates)
- Gorillas, chimpanzees and humans are classified under the same family--Hominidae
- Gorillas and chimps used to be classified under the family Pongidae--Now only the orangutan remains in the Pongidae family
- There're two species of gorilla: Western Gorilla and Eastern Gorilla
- The largest subspecies of gorilla is the Grauer's gorilla (eastern lowland gorilla)
- A group of gorillas is called a troop
- A silverback gorilla is so-called because of the greyish/silver patch he gains on his back when he attains maturity
- Eastern gorillas tend to have blacker hair than their Western counterparts who tend to be browner
- Gorillas have hair not fur
- Mountain gorillas have longer hair, larger jaws and teeth, smaller noses and shorter arms than other gorillas
- Gorilla arms are longer than their legs and in the western gorilla, the male's arm span extends 7-9 feet A greater length than the gorilla is tall
- Not a single one of the gorillas in zoos around the world is a mountain gorilla--they are all lowland (western) gorillas
- The gorillas you see in movies are usually western gorillas, that's why they look so different from the one's seen on safari
- Mountain gorillas tend to die in captivity
- Most gorillas seen on safari are habituated mountain gorillas (bwindi subspecies too)
- Gorillas are mainly folivorous though they may supplement their diet with insects and small animals
- Gorillas live to approx. 35-40yrs in the wild and about 50 years in captivity
- Male gorilla heights average between 5.6 -6.0 feet (1.7 - 1.8 meters)
- Male gorillas weigh between 300 - 500 lbs (136 -227 kgs)
- Female gorillas are significantly smaller. Height: usually no more than 5ft (1.5 meters) Weight 150-200 lbs (68-91kgs)
- Gorillas are naturally found only in Africa
- Western gorillas are found in the West-Central African region (Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and south-eastern Nigeria)
- Eastern gorillas live in the East-Central African region (Uganda, Rwanda and Congo)
- An adult male eats up to 40 pounds of food a day
- Dian Fossey was the foremost person responsible for alerting the public at large to the plight of the mountain gorilla
- Gorillas like other primates are now known to use tools--even wild gorillas have been observed using tools
- December 22, 1956 was the date of the first registered gorilla birth in captivity at Columbus Zoo in Ohio
- Until the late 1970s, thousands of gorillas were slaughtered in order to capture young gorillas destined for zoos
- By the end of 1991, 53% of all gorillas in zoos were born in captivity
- To date more than 760 gorillas reside in over 140 zoos
Ba Kiwanuka www.gorillahub.com
