Mountain Gorilla
We all know that habitats of animals everywhere are being destroyed, but theextent of the problem is unimaginable. In recent years, the mountain gorillapopulation has been cut in half, and are now down to around 650 gorillas inthe world. (3) If something is not done to maintain and expand the currentMountain Gorilla population, they may not be around much longer. There are three species of gorillas. "The Mountain Gorilla is thelargest of them all, and also the rarest." (6) "They can be found in theVirunga volcano region in central Africa. The region is in three countries,Rwanda, Zaire, and Uganda." (6) A small population of Mountain Gorillascan also be found in Uganda's Bwindi national park. (7) Mountain Gorillas are the largest of all apes. The Mountain Gorilla isextremely strong, with broad shoulders and a short torso. The male of thespecies is consistently bigger than the female. They can reach up to 400pounds for a male, and 200 for a female. (6) Males can reach around six feettall, while females only grow to four or five feet while standing upright. (6) "Males often times have a silver streak of hair running down their back andare sometimes referred to as silverbacks." (6)
(4) Gorillas live in communities of varying size. When a new silverback takes control of a family group,he may kill all of the infants of the dead silverback. " (1) "Gorillas do eat meat, but it is confined to verysmall prey. "Bananas are preferred bygorillas but do not grow in large enough quantity in central Africa to maintainthe diet of the gorilla. Their groups can beas large as 35, or as small as 2. In Rwanda, infanticidewas the cause of 38 percent of infant deaths. " (1) "Gorillas eat millipedes, ants, and many other smallarthropods. "They spend over half theirwaking time feeding. (6) Despite the Mountain Gorilla's large stature, it is a very shy, retiringanimal. Gestation period is normallyaround eight or nine months, very similar to human behavior. " (4) Despite all the reasons why the Mountain Gorilla is on the endageredspecies list, there are a few factors that keep them from dying out alltogether. "Primates in general are very social, and the Mountain Gorilla isno exception. Silverbacks will charge anything thatthreatens them or their group and are known for their chest beating displayswhen in danger. Through this organization, you can donate money towards the effort ofkeeping the Mountain Gorilla alive, and help fund research about the species(5) Other efforts that have been made include adding the Mountain Gorilla tothe endagered species list.
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