For visitors planning to visit Africa, the Mountain gorillas are some of the few rare apes to catch a glimpse. They are known for their sturdy bodies, muscular arms and broad chest among other features. Mountain gorillas are very hairy and come in black color, long a good reason they are able to thrive on high elevation.
Mountain gorillas thrive only in three countries
Mountain gorillas are only found within Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In Uganda, they thrive within the lush rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the southwest; in Rwanda, only in Volcanoes National Park in the Northern Province and in the DRC only in the Virunga National Park in the eastern side of the country. To see these unique creatures, there are only 3 countries and 4 national parks for you to make your dream come true.
Trekking mountain gorillas comes at a cost and in Uganda, you require $600 to book a gorilla permit. This cost runs up to 30th June 2020 and starting 1st July 2020, gorilla permits in Uganda will cost $700 per person. Rwanda issues gorilla permits at $1500 per person and DRC at $450 per person.
Scientific name
Mountain gorillas are scientifically known as gorilla beringei beringei and they amazing sub species of gorillas to catch a glimpse on gorilla safari. You can easily identify mountain gorillas by their nose prints that are distinct from one each other. They thrive between altitude 1500 and 4000 meters and their bodies are used to the conditions within their habitat.
Mountain gorillas are very social creatures
Mountain gorillas live in families/groups of about 30 individuals. Each family is led by a silverback-a mature male gorilla whose responsibilities are entirely to safeguard the rest of the members in the family. In one gorilla family, their males, females and infants.
Mountain gorillas are intelligent creatures, they communicate using various modes including sounds. The communication depends on event-say time to move to search for food or call in case there is palatable area for a group to feed or in case of danger.
Unlike humans, mountain gorillas make new nests each day for them to spend a night. They build on tree branches or even on the ground using leaves and tree branches.
Weight of mountain gorillas
Male mountain gorillas are heavier than females. They have a weigh up to 390 pounds and females 250 pounds and this them the huge creatures. Mature male mountain gorillas have bony crests on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads more conical shape.
Females start producing at 10 years and they give birth to one baby and on rare occasions twins. Their gestation period is more like that of humans, they take about 8.5 months and an infant can weigh about 1.8 kilograms and when a baby reaches 3.5 years, it can be weaned from their mothers’ milk.
Mountain gorillas are herbivorous
Mountain gorillas largely depend on vegetation-leaves, shoots, fruits, flowers and at times, they feed on insects. Interestingly, their habitat is comprised of tropical rain forest consisting variety of plant species.
Mountain gorillas are endangered species
Mountain gorillas are listed among the most endangered species on planet, with fewer than 1004 of them still living in the world. They remain the threatened species on earth due to habitat loss, poaching and spread of human infectious diseases among other factors. Mountain gorillas thrive only in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda; Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). About 98 percent of mountain gorilla’s DNA is similar to that of humans which makes them our closest relatives in the wild.
Life span
Gorillas generally have differing life spans which makes it a bit challenging to ascertain that of mountain gorillas. However, the life span for mountain gorillas ranges from 30 to 35 years in average.
In summary, to have an in-depth exploration about mountain gorillas, simply get in touch with our reservation team and we help you arrange an exceptional gorilla safari in Uganda, Rwanda or DRC at pocket friendly rate.