A typical gorilla family includes one silverback, the strongest male and the undisputed leader, one immature male between 8 and 13 years old, three or four adult females, who ordinarily stay with the silverback for life, and three to six youngsters under eight years old. Some groups are larger or smaller than this, and males sometimes travel alone or form bachelor groups.
Gorillas sleep about 13 hours each night and rest for several hours at midday. They build new sleeping nests every night by bending nearby plants into a springy platform, usually on the ground or in low trees. When not resting, they spend most of their time looking for food and eating it. They eat mostly plant foods: leaves, shoots, fruit, bulbs, bark, vines and nettles. They also eat ants, termites, grubs, worms and insect larvae.
There are three types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain. The names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Mountain gorillas are the most critically endangered, with only 620 alive in 1991. Koko, Michael, Ndume and most zoo gorillas are Western Lowland gorillas.
Gorillas are shy and peaceful. The only natural enemy of gorillas has always been human beings. Gorillas are still hunted for meat and trophies in some parts of Africa, and they are caught in traps set for other animals. In the past, whenever an infant gorilla was captured for a zoo, the mother and often the other members of the family were killed as they defended the baby. Now the most serious threat to free-living gorillas is the human population explosion. As more and more people take over the land for agriculture, logging and other development, gorillas have nowhere left to go.
Endangered
The gorilla is a shy and, for the most part, inoffensive vegetarian -- a far cry from the fearsome, aggressive creature depicted in films and comic books. Only when provoked or threatened does it rise to an erect position and beat its cupped hands against its chest in an attempt to intimidate intruders. Gorillas are the largest and most powerful of the apes. Adult males reach an average height of 150-170 cm and weigh from 135 to 230 kg. Females are smaller, but both male and female are tremendously powerful, possessing the ability to tear branches from bushes and uproot small trees. They spend their days quietly, either in a leisurely search for food, or resting in the warm sun.
Unfortunately, these animals, native to the equatorial regions of Africa, are diminishing in number due, in part, to illegal hunting and advancing civilization. Also, laws prohibiting, rather than just controlling, the capture and sale of gorillas need to be passed and enforced in all countries within the species’ range.
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