Western lowland gorilla how many left

They eat roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp. Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.

The leader organizes troop activities, such as eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group's home range.

Though gorillas can stand upright, they prefer traveling on all fours , pushing themselves forward with their knuckles and soles of their feet. When challenged by another male, a troop leader will demonstrate his strength by standing upright, throwing things, making aggressive charges, and pounding his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a roar. In captivity, gorillas have displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language.

Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny—weighing about four pounds—and are capable of doing no more than clinging to their mothers' fur. Young gorillas, from three to six years old, spend much of their day at play, climbing trees, chasing one another, and swinging from branches. While western lowland gorillas are one of the more populous gorilla subspecies, they face a number of threats that have led the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN to classify them as critically endangered.

Forest loss is a twofold threat: It destroys gorilla habitat, and it clears the way for people who hunt gorillas for bushmeat.

Nearly 80 percent of western lowland gorillas live in unprotected areas that are vulnerable to poaching. Farming, grazing, and expanding human settlements are shrinking the western lowland gorilla's space. Climate change further threatens their habitat as warming temperatures dry out the region, making it more vulnerable to fire and forest retreat. Gorilla populations have also been ravaged by infectious diseases.

Experts believe that the Ebola virus may have killed as much as a third of western lowland gorillas in the early s. Though western lowland gorillas are protected by national and international laws, historically enforcement has been weak. All rights reserved. Animals Photo Ark. Common Name: Western lowland gorillas. Language English. Key facts. Common name Common names.

Geographic place Location Lowland tropical forests of central Africa. Endangered Status Critically Endangered More. Common name Scientific name Gorilla gorilla gorilla. Population Population Possibly , individuals. Gorilla news. Physical description Western lowland gorillas are smaller and lighter than the other gorilla subspecies, with short hair, a wider skull and a more pronounced brow ridge.

The ears also appear small in relation to the head. There is also a more pronounced difference between the sexes, with females being almost half the size of silverbacks. Colour: Brownish-grey coat with a red or auburn crest. Adult males have a patch of whitish hair that extends onto the thighs, grading into the black body color.

Feeding on the fruits of over tree species The western lowland gorilla occurs in the rainforests of central Africa, specifically in lowland forest and swamp forest from sea level to about 1,m. Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla gorilla , silverback male. Stem-peeling is a favourite feeding technique. Priority place Congo Basin. Population and distribution The western lowland gorilla is the most widespread and numerous of the four gorilla subspecies.

However, the total population is thought to number up to , individuals. The forests of Congo Brazzaville are currently considered to harbour the major population of western lowland gorillas, which are protected by the remoteness of the large, swampy forest areas. What are the main threats? Hunting and trade Hunting is the main threat to western lowland gorillas.

Gorillas are sought after as food bushmeat and pets, and their body parts are used in medicine and as magical charms.

The impact of hunting on gorilla population has proven to be dramatic. In western lowland gorillas, the silver may extend to rump and thighs. Western lowland females may go gray below the ears and on the neck and top of the head as they age. Compared to other subspecies, western lowland gorillas have a more pronounced brow ridge and ears that appear small in relation to their heads.

They also have a differently shaped nose and lip than other subspecies. Adult male gorillas' heads look conical due to the large bony crests on the top and back of the skull.

These crests anchor the massive muscles used to support and operate their large jaws and teeth. Adult female gorillas also have these crests, but they are much less pronounced. In comparison to the mountain gorilla, the western lowland gorilla has a wider and larger skull, and their big toe is spread apart more from the alignment of the other four toes. Gorillas' arms are longer than their legs; when they move on all fours, they knuckle-walk, supporting their weight on the third and fourth digits of their curled hands.

Like other primates, each individual has distinctive fingerprints. Gorillas also have unique nose prints. Males are much larger than females.

Adult males weigh an average of pounds They stand up to 6 feet 1. Adult females weigh from to pounds Adult males have an arm span of 8 feet 2. Western lowland gorillas are broadly distributed across the Congo Basin, and are more or less continuously distributed across the countries of Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. Though present historically in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they are now likely extinct there. Western lowland gorilla ranges have been measured from 9 to 14 square miles The average distance traveled in a day is usually less than 1 mile 1.

Because of their large size, gorillas spend most of their time on the ground. Gorillas communicate using auditory signals, visual signals and odors. They are generally quiet animals but they may also scream, bark and roar. Scientists have heard up to 22 different gorilla vocalizations, each seeming to have its own meaning. Some examples of gorilla "body language" include crouching low and approaching from the side when being submissive; walking directly when confident and standing, slapping their chests and advancing when aggressive.

Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, eating the leaves and stems of herbs, shrubs and vines. They also eat the fleshy fruits of close to a hundred seasonally fruiting tree species. Other gorilla subspecies eat proportionally less fruit. Gorillas get some protein from invertebrates found on leaves and fruits.

Adult male gorillas eat about 45 pounds 32 kilograms of food per day. Females eat about two-thirds of that amount. At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the group is fed together in the morning.

Food items are cut up and spread over a wide area. In the summer, this is usually done in the yard. In the afternoon, individuals are separated so each animal gets its share of preferred food items. Morning and evening foods include chow, greens, fruits and vegetables. Forage items placed in hay for the gorillas include popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, "enrich bits," beans and diced fruits and vegetables.

Fresh tree trimmings are given daily. Some of the gorillas favorite browse; options are Bradford pear, willow, mulberry with berries and maple. There are three feeding behaviors sometimes observed in gorillas in human care that can bother visitors. These behaviors are natural, though not to humans. They are regurgitation and reingestion, coprophagy eating feces and urine drinking.

Regurgitation and reingestion involves an animal regurgitating some of its food and re-eating it. Biologists do not entirely understand why gorillas exhibit this behavior in human care. A few ideas include starch or sugar content, mineral recapture or the food tasting good. Provision of forage foods, increased smaller feedings and providing browse seem to reduce this behavior in some individuals.

Coprophagy is seen in the wild and is defined as the eating of feces. Gorillas do not have very efficient digestive systems for a high fiber diet, so unprocessed food can be found in their feces. Coprophagy allows an animal to utilize this food. Similarly, urine drinking might be explained as the recollection of minerals. Gorillas are flexible in their nature and behavior.

Thus, the information found here is only a general guide. Gorillas live in groups, or troops, from two to over 30 members.

But data seems to indicate that western lowland gorillas live in smaller groups, averaging about five individuals. Groups are generally composed of a silverback male, one or more black back males, several adult females and their infant and juvenile offspring.

This group composition varies greatly due to births, deaths and the immigration and emigration of individuals. Mature offspring typically leave their birth group to find a mate. At about eight years old, females generally emigrate into a new group of their choosing. They seem to choose which silverback to join based on such attributes as size and quality of his home range.

A female may change family groups a number of times throughout her life. When leaving their birth group, some sexually mature males may attempt to replace the silverback in an already established group.