The gorilla species narrowly survived extinction but they have stood the tests of time that include wars, hunting them, being sold as pets, and encroaching on their habitat among other growth suppressing factors. However, their rights were revived by conservationists seeing the gradual but visible increase in the number of the world mountain gorillas to 1063 individuals.
Types of mountain gorillas
An agreement has been reached over time that there are only two types of gorillas and the other types are just a subdivision of either the eastern or western gorillas as discussed below.
Eastern gorillas
The eastern gorillas are an amazing type of gorillas that are named after their location since they are mostly sighted in the east & central parts of Africa. The amazing species is considered to be the largest primate surviving on earth.
Generally, eastern gorillas have larger jaws, teeth, long hair, shorter arms and their nose is smaller than that of western gorillas.
Western gorillas
While the mountain gorillas are referred to as endangered creatures, the level of extinction of the western gorillas is too high as they are referred to as critically endangered species.
Found in the mid-western parts of Africa, the western gorillas have hairs slightly lighter than what the eastern mountain gorillas have and are the second largest primates living on earth. A male western gorilla weighs around 180 kg.
Cross-river gorillas
The cross river gorilla is as rare as a clover with four leaves because it’s considered to be the world’s rarest great ape with less than 300 assumed to be living in nature.
Cross river gorillas are found on the borders of Cameroon and Nigeria in Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary and Takamanda National Park.
Sub species of the eastern gorillas
Eastern lowland gorillas
It is estimated that around 300 lowland gorillas are killed for meat by Congolese citizens which has critically endangered the lives of these magnificent gigantic wondrous kings. There are about 6800 species still roaming in the wild and this species is the strongest of all the four species of mountain gorillas. The largest living primates have their males weigh around 220 kg and the small females weigh around 80 kg. Males can stand up to 1.9 meters and females can go up to 1.6 meters. The species are highly social and can live with families of about 30 members led by a silverback.
Eastern lowland gorillas can be found both in lowland tropical forests and mountainous areas. This species diets on roots, vegetation, leaves, fruits and once in a while incorporates insects like ants and termites. A tour around the mountainous areas of DR.Congo like Kahuzi Beiga, Maiko National Park, Usama Forest, Tayna Gorilla Reserve and the Item Itombwe massif exposes the beauty underneath their dark emerald green forests brought by the gigantic Eastern lowland gorillas
Eastern mountain gorillas
The praise that this species gets for being King Kong is because it is the world’s largest living primate. Almost all the body parts of this species are massive, ranging from long arms, broad hands, feet, broad chests, and large flat noses among others. These gorillas weigh up to about 430 pounds and are almost 6 feet tall.
It is thought of as the eastern mountain gorillas are further divided into two groups. The first group is quite larger than the second one and this is made up of all apes that live in the Virunga Massif and the second one is the second group that resides in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This species is found in Rwanda, DR.Congo and Uganda however they love mountains with elevations of between 8000 to 13000 feet.
