

The exact plants eaten vary by season, species, and region. They do eat fruit, but it does not make up a large portion of their diet. The vast majority of their diet contains leaves, shoots, stems, and other plant parts. Gorillas are primarily herbivores, which means that they eat plants. Eastern gorillas live in a small range in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Western gorillas live primarily in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, and Cameroon. The western gorilla lives in the forests of western Africa, and is more widespread than the eastern gorilla. The different species and subspecies of gorillas have different ranges. Though they live in forests, and can climb well, gorillas spend much of their time on the ground. Some of their preferred habitats are bamboo forests, lowland swamps, mountain forests, lowland forests, and more. Many species live in mountainous regions, and some even live up to 13,000 ft. Some species or subspecies live in dense forests, others in swamps.

Once baby gorillas reach three years of age, they build their own nests close to their mothers.ĭifferent species and subspecies of gorillas prefer different habitats. The nests are around two feet and five feet across, and each gorilla builds its own nest. Unlike orangutans, gorillas usually sleep in nests on the ground instead of in the trees.

Because of this trait, many people call them “silverbacks.” This coloration runs from the back to the hips of adult males. Silverback – Adult male gorillas develop silver-grey hair on their backs.Oddly enough, anteaters also walk on their knuckles! Chimpanzees also knuckle-walk, but they walk on their rear legs more frequently than do gorillas. They close their fists, and place their hands knuckle-down on the ground to walk on all fours. Locomotion – While gorillas can move about on their hind legs when necessary, they usually travel by knuckle-walking.Learn more about what makes these unique creatures worth protecting below. Sadly, warfare within the countries in which these apes live is directly impacting them. These intelligent apes have intrigued us for centuries. The subspecies that live in mountainous regions have even thicker fur than their counterparts. įact: Like other apes, gorillas have no tail.They have thick black fur across their bodies, save for their faces, the palms of their hands, and the bottoms of their feet. įact: A gorilla's arms, while longer than a human's, are shorter than those of an orangutan or gibbon.
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Image Source: The Dilly Lama/ License under Creative Commons 2.0.įact: An adult male gorilla standing on two legs is between 5.5-6 ft. įact: The zoo gorilla that holds the world record for weight was more than 750 lb. įact: In captivity, gorillas usually weigh more males, for example, can weigh up to 600 lb. Females normally weigh half as much as males, averaging around 200 pounds. Image Source: hjallig/ License under Creative Commons 2.0.įact: An adult male gorilla in the wild weighs between 300-450 lb. įact: The average lifespan of a gorilla in the wild is about 35 years, but in captivity they may live as long as 54 years. However, all three types of gorilla are very similar. The species gorilla has been divided into three regional types western lowland, eastern lowland, and mountain. Western lowland gorillas are the most common in captivity. įact: When you go to a zoo and see a gorilla, you are probably looking at a western lowland gorrila. Fact: Gorillas are the largest ape in the order primates.
