Gorilla Facts About What They Eat; First of all ,gorillas are land dwelling mammals and are said to have 98% DNA to human genes .Fact about mountain gorillas in the world they live in three countries ; Uganda ,Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Whereby Uganda is gifted with two national parks – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park both located in south western Uganda regions ,estimating about 8 to 9 hours drive to each final destinations and the journey starts from Kampala or Entebbe to Bwindi or Mgahinga. You opt to use a domestic flight by ‘’Aero link airline’’ from Entebbe if you can’t make it with long drive, flying takes about 1:15 hours to land you to the nearby airstrip-Kisoro or Kihihi.
Rwanda mountain gorillas can be seen in Volcanoes National Park and Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo. Back to the point, facts about what gorillas eats and below are the amazing facts as follows;
Mountain gorillas eat all day long and half of their day feed mainly on plants. And around 85% of their diet is made up of leaves, shoots and stems and they can also eat larvae, snails, ants and even roots, barks and rotting wood.
They are mainly vegetarian diet, feed on stems, bamboo shoots and fruits. Western lowland gorillas, also feed on termites and ants and break open termite nest to eat the larvae.
Food preferences facts and resource;
Western lowland ‘’Gorilla gorilla gorilla’’; This subspecies consumes at least 97 plant species. And about 67% of their diet is fruit ,17% is leaves, seeds and stems and 3% is termites and caterpillars.
Eastern lowland gorilla ‘’Gorilla beringei graueri’’. It can consume about 104 plant species.
Mountain gorillas ‘’Gorilla beringei beringei’’; This subspecies consumes part of at least 142 plant species and only 3 types of fruits -they are available due to the high altitude. Around 86% of their diet is leaves, shoots and stems ,7%is roots ,3% is flowers ,2% is fruit and 2% is diet of ants, snails and grub.
Cross River gorilla ‘’Gorilla gorilla diehli’’; There diet subspecies is not well studied as the other subspecies. However, their diet tends to include; fruit, leaves, stems, piths and some invertebrates.
Generally, gorillas tend to survive on vegetation such as leaves, stems, roots, vines, herbs, trees and grasses but such vegetation has relatively low nutritional quality. Therefore, gorillas can consume a larger quantity, but it is available year-round.
An adult male gorilla may eat more than 18kilogrames of vegetation per day. They rarely drink water because they consume succulent vegetation that is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew.
Other facts about gorillas;
Do gorillas live alone?
Gorilla live in family groups that can range from a couple of individuals to more than 40 members. A dominant male lead and holds the position for years.
How closely related to gorillas are human?
Fact, gorillas are intelligent mammals and share 98% of their DNA with humans. They are our closest related cousins after chimpanzees and bonobos.
What threats do gorillas face?
Gorillas face a lot of threats which leads to their decline in number such as; poaching, diseases like Ebola and habitat destruction threaten the four-gorilla subspecies; number of gorillas live outside of protected areas. WWF works to appoint new gorilla sanctuaries, especially in Congo.
How big do gorillas get?
Adult male gorillas weigh up to 440 pounds and can reach a height of six feet when standing on two legs. Well, mature male gorillas are known as Silverbacks’’ once they develop white hair on their back at about 14 years of age.
How often do gorillas give birth?
Female gorillas have a gestation period of 8.5 months and nurture their young for several years, Fact, females give birth to one baby every 4 to 6 years. This slow population growth makes it harder for gorillas to recover from any decline in their population.
Does wildlife crime affect gorillas?
The illegal trade of gorillas and other great apes is a problem across Central Africa. WWF works with partners to monitor this trade for more effectively enforced wildlife laws.
In general, gorillas are known as the largest primates, inhabiting in central and east Africa. These species function in a well-developed social structure and often exhibit behaviors and emotions similar to the human experience such as laughter and sadness. Despite, poaching, diseases and habitat destruction remain threats for gorillas and WWF is working to designate new protected areas where population can flourish.
