About

Physical Description

The Mountain Gorilla is one of the largest of the gorilla subspecies, with males growing up to 6ft tall and weighing 350 to 500 pounds. Females are usually a bit smaller and less heavily muscled. Both sexes have a bony ridge on top of their heads where the masseter muscle is attached, aiding in jaw strength. Mountain Gorillas are an even black color, except for mature males who have a silver colored saddle on their backs, which is why they are known as "silverbacks". Like humans each gorilla has an identifiable print, albeit on their noses rather than their fingers.

Like the chimpanzee, the Mountain Gorilla is a knuckle walker, using the backs of his hands rather than the palms for support when walking. He is also a terrestrial primate for the most part, because most trees won't hold his massive weight. The Mountain Gorilla is diurnal, and rise with the sun, settling in for the night around 6 pm.

Range and Diet

The Mountain Gorilla prefers high altitude habitats, from 7,300 to 14,000 ft. They mostly live on the slopes of three dormant volcanoes, Karisimbi, Mikeno, and Visoke. The bases of the volcanoes are richly forested, growing sparser as the elevation grows. The gorillas have heavy fur, to deal with the cold and misty conditions that pervade at such altitudes.

During the day the male Mountain Gorilla can eat up to 75 pounds of vegetation, while the female can eat up to 40 pounds. In fact, the gorilla spends most of his day foraging for the food necessary to keep him alive. Most of his diet consists of leaves, stems and shoots, though he'll also eat bark, roots, flowers, fruit, and bugs. The range of a group of Mountain Gorillas is often determined by how much food is available in the area.

Social Structure and Reproduction

The social structure of a group of Mountain Gorillas is fascinating and complex. A group of gorillas usually consists on one dominant silverback male, perhaps one or two blackback males, and several females who are bonded to the silverback male for life. The silverback is the glue that holds the group together. He mediates internal disputes, protects the group from outside threats, and is father to all of the baby Mountain Gorillas. In fact, if a mother is killed or dies the silverback will look after the orphaned baby, even inviting it to sleep in his nest at night.

Of course, dominance can shift. There are often groups or single males who will challenge a ruling silverback for his tribe. In the event that the dominant male loses and a new silverback takes charge, he will kill all of the old silverback's infants. This is an effective strategy to propagate his genes, because with no babies the females will be receptive again.

Mountain Gorillas mate at any time of the year, with females having a 28 day cycle with one to three days of fertility. The female usually initiates the contact, and afterwards gestates the baby for around eight and a half months. Infant Mountain Gorillas are extremely fragile, and stay close to their mother for the first year of life. At around four or five months he will start to walk, and at six months he will begin chewing on stems and leaves, though many aren't weaned until three years of age. A female Mountain Gorilla remains infertile for three to five years after having a baby in order to focus on the sometimes intense needs of her offspring. In fact, many females only have two to six offspring over a forty year life span.

Reason they are engangered

The Mountain Gorilla face many dangers, the most prominent being poaching, habitat loss, disease, and civil wars. Poaching has had the most drastic effect on the population. Reasons why gorillas are poached range from desire to sell body parts to the kidnapping of infants for zoos or private buyers. Some gorillas also fall prey to traps meant for other animals. Recently a park ranger from the Congo's Virunga National Park was arrested for masterminding the slaughter of ten Mountain Gorillas, who were allegedly killed to discourage environmentalists in the area.

Habitat loss has also pushed the Mountain Gorilla onto the critically endangered list. Locals use slash and burn techniques to clear for crop lands, pushing to gorillas into isolated areas of forest. This forces gorillas to look to human crops for food occasionally, increasing human/gorilla hostility.

Unfortunately, humans and gorillas share enough DNA to make diseases transmissible. This is especially deadly for isolated groups of gorillas who are visited by tourists. The gorillas have no immunity to foreign diseases, and quickly fall when exposed.

Finally, the mountain gorilla is prey to the civil wars and general unrest that pervades much of Africa. With civil unrest many laws are not enforced, making poachers bolder and less afraid. Wars also prevent activists from coming to the area and helping.

There are only 720 Mountain Gorillas left in the world.

How you can help

The African Wildlife Foundation is one of the leading organiztions to support anti-poaching and habitat preservation for the Mountain Gorilla. You can find their action page here:

http://www.awf.org/content/action/detail/4109