Mountain
Gorilla
Mountain Gorilla's are found in
the jungles of Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda. The scientific name for the mountain
Gorilla is Gorilla gorilla.The mountain Gorilla finds its natural habitat
at elevations as high as 13,500 feet.
The Mountain
Gorilla is highly intelligent and gentle creature. Despite a ferocious
reputation, the gorilla rarely makes use of it's incredible strength. However
when it comes to defending the family it's full force. A typical group
i sled by the biggest and strongest mature male gorilla. this gorilla is
called a silverblack, this is because the hair on a male's back turns from
black to grey as he matures. This happens when he is between the age of
11 and 13 years old.
Mountain gorillas wander around a home range of up to 15 square miles (39
square kilometres). They spend much of their time eating. Their food includes
a variety of plants, along with few insects and worms. At night the animals
make a nest to sleep in. The gorilla makes a nest in trees and on the ground
depending on
their weight. Baby gorillas sleep
with their mothers.
Male
and female gorillas are very different when it comes to size. male gorillas
are almost twice the size as a female. Male gorillas can measure up to
5 feet, nine inches tall and weigh as much as 430lbs.! The width of the
gorillas muscular chests comes close to their height, some gorillas chests
are 5 feet wide!
Today Mountain Gorillas are endangered, there are less than 400 left in
the wild. They are threatened by civil war in a small area of Africa where
they live. Hunters kill them for food and for trophies. Their forests are
chopped down for farmland, fuel, and housing. But there are many dedicated
park rangers, scientists, and other people who are working hard to protect
mountain gorillas and their forests.
By: Andrea Noel
Mountain
Habitat
Land Habitats
School Site
St. Joseph's Intermediate "Exploring Land Habitats" Project