What is WWF doing? Gorillas have been a flagship species for WWF for 50 years. We are actively working to protect all four gorilla subspecies through: Improving the effectiveness of protected areas. Stopping the illegal trade in gorilla products. Increasing support for gorilla conservation among both local and international communities Gorilla conservation programs not only work to protect the gorillas themselves but also help to protect thousands of other species of animals and plants that are found in gorilla habitat.
How you can help Visit the gorillas! Money earned through gorilla tourism contributes significantly to the conservation of the species — providing funds for conservation projects and creating jobs and bringing other benefits to local communities living near gorillas. Give a gift! Buy a " Gorilla's Paradise " WWF gift and help support the Gamba Complex of protected areas in Gabon — home to western lowland gorillas as well as hippos, elephants and much more.
Buy sustainable wood. By purchasing FSC-certified forest products , consumers, retailers, traders, and manufacturers help protect gorilla habitat by encouraging sustainable forestry and limiting illegal logging.
Without the FSC label, your timber may well stem from illegal or controversial sources in central Africa. Donate to WWF to help support our great ape conservation work. See how your donation helps Spread the word! Click on the button to share this information with others via email or your favourite social networking service.
Virtual Gifts. Did you know? Give a Gorilla Gift to someone you love! Please Donate Our work is only possible with your support. Recent surveys in the Virunga Massif estimate that the mountain gorilla population now stands at 1, In November , it was announced that mountain gorillas are no longer critically endangered, although conservation work continues.
Read why mountain gorillas no longer Critically Endangered. Females tend to be cm shorter and weigh roughly half what the males do. That silverback stood 1. But apart from in conflicts between silverbacks, gorillas tend to be gentle giants that rarely display their full strength. Gorillas are highly intelligent. One famous captive-born individual, Koko, has been taught sign language since she was a year old.
By the age of 40, she had a library of about 1, signs and could understand some 2, words of English. Take the quiz. Gorillas are mainly herbivores, and their diet mostly consists of bamboo, fruit and leafy plants, though western lowland gorillas also eat small insects.
Adult gorillas can eat up to 30kg of food each day. While western lowland gorillas are one of the more populous gorilla subspecies, they face a number of threats that have led the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN to classify them as critically endangered. Forest loss is a twofold threat: It destroys gorilla habitat, and it clears the way for people who hunt gorillas for bushmeat.
Nearly 80 percent of western lowland gorillas live in unprotected areas that are vulnerable to poaching. Farming, grazing, and expanding human settlements are shrinking the western lowland gorilla's space. Climate change further threatens their habitat as warming temperatures dry out the region, making it more vulnerable to fire and forest retreat. Gorilla populations have also been ravaged by infectious diseases.
Experts believe that the Ebola virus may have killed as much as a third of western lowland gorillas in the early s. Though western lowland gorillas are protected by national and international laws, historically enforcement has been weak.
All rights reserved. Animals Photo Ark. Common Name: Western lowland gorillas. Scientific Name: Gorilla gorilla gorilla. Type: Mammals. Diet: Omnivore. Group Name: Troop. Walking quadrupedally requires long arms, and the armspan of gorillas is larger than their standing height. Limbs are plantigrade and pentadactyl.
Typically one dominant male within a gorilla troup mates with the females in that group. The dominant male, because of his superior fighting prowess and the perceived ability to better protect females and their offspring, is preferred by the females.
As in humans , there is no fixed breeding season for gorillas, and females menstruate every 28 days. A single young, weighing approximately 2 kg, is born after nine months of gestation. Young gorillas nurse for 3 to 4 years. Females give birth at about four-year intervals, beginning when they are approximately ten years of age. However, a high mortality rate means surviving offspring are produced only once every 6 to 8 years.
Males, because of physical competition for mates, only rarely breed before the age of Infants are suckled for 3 to 4 years. In the case of multiple young, the mother, who must carry the infants, finds it difficult to care for two and frequently allows one to die. Young grow at approximately twice the rate of human babies and are able to crawl and cling to their mother by the age of 3 months. They remain dependent upon the mother for 3 to 4 years.
Females provide the young with transportation, food, and socialization. They protect their young within the group. Males do not typically interact much with the young, although they do protect their offspring by defending the social group against potentially infanticidal males who might wish to take over control of the group. Wild gorillas live between 35 and 40 years with some captive gorillas living almost 50 years.
Gorillas are generally peaceful, shy, and amiable unless threatened. However, males will stand erect and beat their chests with their fists in attempts to intimidate or show off their strength. They growl loudly and become very dangerous when annoyed or attacked.
Gorillas also demonstrate aggression by charging towards perceived intruders. They rarely hit the intruder, though. Instead, they rush past and may charge again. Gorillas band together in groups of 5 to 15 individuals. A typical group consists of one dominant male, many adult females with their young.
In some cases, a smaller pack of less dominant males will associate on the periphery of this core group. The dominant male, sometimes known as a silverback because of the age-related greying hair on his back, remains dominant until another male displaces him from his position.
Displaced silverbacks typically lead a solitary life. Fighting plays an important role in group hierarchy. It is common that a newly-dominant male, after displacing the former dominant male, is likey to kill the infants in the group, thus returning all lactating females prematurely to reproductive cycling. In doing this, a male increases his chance to produce offspring, as his tenure as a dominant male is of unknown duration.
To guard against potentially infanticidal males, a male's capacity to fight and ensure survival of his progeny is unquestionably paramount to receptive females. Male gorillas are known to make a hooting sound as an alarm to all members of the group, each of whom becomes instantly alert. Groups may travel together for months and usually years at a time, but, because of the abundance of food in the vicinity of their camps and their imposing size, little time and energy is typically devoted to travel.
0コメント