Western lowland gorilla is sub-species of western gorilla together with cross river gorilla and they are normally located in areas of rain forests in western and central Africa region – Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Central African Republic. It is believed that western lowland gorillas have a population of 95,000 individuals in the whole world. They are known to be with the smallest population compared to the 4 subspecies of gorillas.
The male giants are called silverbacks which normally become the leaders of a group / family. The western lowland gorillas live in groups called troops of between 5 to 30 individuals or more. Silverbacks averagely weigh 140kg, although males can even reach 240kg while females weigh up to 90kg. They live at an altitude of 1600m to 5200m above sea level.
Like any other gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorillas also create other families from the main family. This is usually because of misunderstandings between the current leader of the family/lead silverback and upcoming black back. Normally females end up joining the new group and these rivalries may continue for a while. The silverback’s main activities are normally organizing members to search for food, nesting and offering protection.
Western lowland gorilla habitats.
They prefer tall and lush rain forests and they spend most of their time on ground and at night they make nests in the trees where they usually spend a night. Sometimes they build their nests on the ground for sleepovers. Nesting takes place during the day and females and the young ones sleep in the tree branches while the dominant silverback sleeps at the base of the tree intending to protect the family from any likely attacks.
Western lowland gorillas are typically herbivorous, which feed on leaves, fruits, roots, seeds, stems but they prefer fruits mostly which are seasonal. Once in a while, they are seen eating insects like termites or ants and they are a supplement to their diet. Due to their diet, western lowland gorillas are always spotted in trees mostly the big trucks to support their weight while looking for fruits.
Reproduction.
The female western lowland gorillas do not produce many young ones because they reach sexual maturity at the age of 8 to 9 and taking birth after a pregnancy of 9 months. They don’t show any sign of pregnancy and after producing, young ones spend almost 4 months at the back of their months and about five years to leave the care and dependency of the mother. Female gorillas can take about 6 years to give birth after producing and only one offspring is produced at a time.
Like any other primate, the low land gorillas are seen to be the human disturbances in terms of crops since they live in the conservation areas in Africa neighbouring communities. They normally eat corns, bananas, sunflower among others and these crops are valuable to the natives. The natives also respond by poaching them hence being the endangered low land gorillas.
Also, humans hunt and kill these gorillas as bush meat. The meat is used as food and a source of income. The homes of lowland gorillas are destroyed by humans in search of timber and other resources like gold and petroleum and this has harmed the ecological setup.
Another threat to lowland gorillas is outbreak of diseases like Ebola, especially in Democratic Republic of Congo since these primates are prone to human diseases. This has led to reduction in the number of lowland gorillas.
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