17 Facts about Mountain Gorillas

17 Facts about Mountain Gorillas: There are several interesting things about gorillas and that’s why they are highly sought after by both the tourist and poachers.

The fact that they are endangered is not the key issue but the interesting things about them make the fact that they are just a few of them in the world left even more worrying. In Rwanda the moutain gorillas are found in Volcanoes national park, in Uganda they are found in Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla national park while in congo they are found in Virunga national park.

Here are some of the things you need to know about gorillas.

There are just about 900 mountain gorillas left in the world and can only be found in Uganda, /pearl of Africa, Rwanda / Rwanda land of a thousand hills and DRC .
They have 98% DNA match with Humans which makes them close relatives
They are the largest primates in the world with females weighing about 200 pounds and the males double that figure.
Gorillas have human emotions and can laugh when tickled and cry when hurt.
They eat about 50 pounds a day for males
Gorillas rarely drink water as they get much of their water from the plants they feed on.
They use vines’ branches and leaves to form baby beds
A baby gorilla weighs about 4.5 pounds.
Gorillas stay in families just like humans. Families have up to 20 members.
Gorillas usually walk on four limbs and only use only their feet for a short while.
Its weird that these primates don’t have tails.
Gorillas are very intelligent and those that have been habituated have been taught sign language to communicate with humans.
Gorillas build a sleeping nest every evening and occasionally one for the midday nap.
When a male matures its back hair turns silver hence being called “silver back”.
Gorillas have a life expectancy of up to 53 years.
Female gorillas reach a breeding stage after 10 years.
Females normally give birth every after 4-5 years with a gestation period of 8-9 months