Eastern gorilla. Gorilla monkey
There are many feature films, in which in leading role huge fictional monkeys perform. It’s simply impossible to meet the real King Kong anywhere because he doesn’t really exist. But it is still really possible to see its prototype in nature or in some zoo.
Which ones are considered the largest in the world? Gorilla monkey – This is the largest representative of primates. They bear too much resemblance to. The structure and even some of the habits of these animals are very similar to those of humans. People first learned about them from the description of Thomas Savagemise, a missionary from America.
Features and habitat of the gorilla
IN real life parameters great ape gorilla much less than in science fiction films about her. The average height of this interesting animal is about two meters, and its weight sometimes reaches 270 kg. Males are always twice as large as females. Their wide back is what catches your eye the most. The shoulder width of the male reaches one meter.
Throughout the body photo of gorilla monkey the naked eye can see incredible strength and power. It is massive, has well-developed muscles, strong hands and powerful feet.
The width of a gorilla's shoulders can reach one meter
Gorillas have dark coats; adult males also have a silver stripe running across their entire back. The gorilla's brow ridges protrude noticeably.
The forelimbs are much longer than the hind limbs. This animal can easily move on its hind legs, but still prefers to walk on all fours. Gorillas walk relying on the backs of their fingers, so the inside of the animal’s palms is quite sensitive.
The animal's large head has a low forehead and a massive jaw protruding forward. The volume of a gorilla's brain is about 600 cubic centimeters. The animal has 48 chromosomes.
Species of Gorillas
Gorillas are divided into two species. Those who live in the plains rain forests Gabon, Cameroon and Congo are called lowland gorillas.
Those who live in central regions Africa in the Virunga mountain ranges are called mountainous. Mountain gorillas differ from lowland gorillas in having long hair, which they need to protect animals from severe mountain frosts.
Character and lifestyle of a gorilla
Gorilla monkey lives in groups consisting of 5-30 individuals. The main place in such a group the leader occupies the position, there are also a couple of males, females and babies. Gorillas are the most fearsome inhabitants of the forest, so they have no special ill-wishers or enemies.
Their food grows all over the forests, so they don't have to spend much time looking for food. In the first half of the day, primates prefer to sleep. After waking up, the animals walk through the tropics and rest.
For most gorillas, rest consists of sleeping, small primates play among themselves, while other animals search in each other's fur.
Afterwards they walk through the jungle again, while eating food. They continue this activity until dusk. As night approaches, the leader of the group begins to build a nest for himself out of branches.
Because of his heavy weight the leader often has to sleep on the ground
As a rule, it is always on the ground because the leader usually has a large mass. Other members of the friendly group climb trees and, having built nests for themselves there, fall asleep soundly in those places where night finds them.
These social animals are quite comfortable and natural in a group. Gorillas do not like bodies of water and try to avoid them. They also do not enjoy rainy weather.
Although the gorilla has a terrifying appearance, these animals are actually good-natured and peaceful, if you do not come into conflict with him. Their leader may perform a frightening dance in order to strengthen his authority and protect the group from the enemy, but this threat, as a rule, does not go beyond the dance.
Even when enraged, he most often refrains from attacking a person. If this happens, then these are small, insignificant bites.
Gorillas are friendly
The gorilla group is mostly calm. Scandals periodically occur between females, which quickly stop after small verbal altercations.
The leader at this time does not interfere in the quarrel between the “ladies”, but modestly watches all this from the side. Communication between all group members occurs at the level signaling system, which consists of facial expressions and sounds.
Gorilla food
The largest primates are vegetarians. The main food of gorillas is products plant origin. Between play and rest gorilla monkey eating celery, nettle, bedstraw, bamboo shoots and pygeum fruits.
They dilute their main diet with nuts and fruits. Gorillas have very strong jaws, they easily chew tree roots, branches and wood. Sometimes, very rarely, insects can get into food.
Gorillas compensate for the lack of salt in the body with the help of certain types of clay. The size of the animals does not allow them to eat in the tree; to do this, they descend to the ground.
For a long time They can survive without water because the greens they eat contain enough moisture. In order to feel good, gorillas have to eat a lot of food. In essence, their entire day consists of them getting food, eating it, and sleeping.
Gorilla reproduction and lifespan
Childbearing age for female gorillas begins at 10 years, for males at 15-20 years. Childbirth occurs approximately once every four years. Pregnancy lasts 250-270 days. A small baby is born, weighing 1.5.
Pictured is a baby gorilla
He is absolutely helpless, unable to even crawl. Until 8 months, he feeds only on his mother's milk. Sometimes breast-feeding lasts up to 3 years. Long time children are close to their parents. Gorillas live in the wild for up to 40 years. In captivity ten years longer.
Gorillas are found in Africa. In particular, they live in the following countries: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria. Gorillas are land mammals, living on forest edges or clearings, abandoned fields, swampy areas and wet forests. They are divided into different subspecies, with each subspecies found in different parts of Africa.
The eastern mountain gorilla lives in countries East Africa countries such as Rwanda and Uganda, while western lowland gorillas thrive in West African countries such as Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Cameroon. The mountain gorilla is found at high altitudes in Rwanda, Uganda and Zaire.
The numbers of these primates are declining sharply and they are close to extinction. Scientists say there are only about 50,000 gorillas left in Africa, most of which are lowland gorillas. There are approximately 2,500 eastern lowland gorillas and approximately 600 mountain gorillas that are critically endangered.
Human activities are the main reasons for the continuous decline of gorilla populations every year. Fighting poachers who hunt them and sell the meat in local or foreign markets is considered the biggest challenge. Scientists suggest that in wildlife gorillas could become extinct within the next 10-20 years if all illegal activities are not stopped.
Male gorilla (all photos are clickable)
Gorillas belong to the order of primates, that is, they are apes. They are very similar to people: they can walk on their lower limbs, they are dexterous with their hands, they have facial expressions, their blood has groups, and the structure of their DNA is the same as that of humans.
Their habitats are African tropical forests, lowland and mountainous. In accordance with this, lowland and mountain gorillas are distinguished.
The word “gorilla” was given to the world by the Carthaginian navigator Hanno, who 2,500 years ago sailed to the shores of West Africa, where he discovered and described “wild hairy people.” Much later, great apes were discovered in both East and Central Africa. And by the 1930s, science had a lot of information about these monkeys and many of their names: Engina, gorilla gina, gina, mountain gorilla, etc. Until the American scientist Harold Coolidge determined that they were all one species.
Modern science knows three subspecies of gorillas, differing in habitat: western valley (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon), mountain (mountain forests around Lake Kivu), eastern valley (forests near Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River). Only a specialist can see their differences. Overall, this is a very big black monkey, whose height reaches two meters, weighs 250-300 kg, with big head, powerful chest, noticeable belly, long arms and short legs. The body is covered with fur, with the exception of the face, ears, hands and feet. These monkeys have a very expressive face: under the prominent brow ridges there are deep-set eyes, wide nostrils, and tightly compressed lips.
Mom and baby
In the wild, gorillas live in herds of up to 30 individuals. Their daily routine is simple: food - sleep, sleep - food. They sleep a lot; for the night they make nests in trees or in bamboo thickets. Each person arranges a place to stay for the night herself. Even cubs know how to organize a place for themselves to rest. They eat mainly plant foods: young shoots of trees, berries, nettles, celery.
Gorilla is a social animal that lives in family group, which is led by a mature male, can be identified by its silver-gray back. In addition to him and the females, the family includes several young males, who are brothers or sons of the head of the pack, they help him protect the group from enemies, mainly poisonous snakes and boa constrictors, as well as from other monkeys and humans. The leader himself is very strong and brutal, but towards his wives and cubs he is kind and gentle. In terms of procreation, the choice remains with the female; she herself determines when she will enter into a relationship with the leader, and can leave the family if the feelings fade away.
Pregnancy in a female lasts 251-289 days, the newborn weighs a kilogram and a half, it is naked, without teeth, and looks like a child. During the first three months the baby learns to focus his gaze, recognize his relatives, respond to maternal affection and do many things complex movements to know the world. Then he masters the method of traveling astride his mother. Six months later, he is already a tomboy, he still feeds on his mother’s milk, but he is already trying adult food. Approximately until four years continues to be with the mother, even if she gives birth to another baby, the female sleeps along with all the small children. A gorilla giving birth for the first time is assisted by more experienced females. The worst thing for a cub is when, when moving to other places, he falls off his mother’s back and gets lost in the thickets - then he will not survive.
Female gorilla and her baby
By the age of seven, the gorilla reaches sexual maturity. The grown daughters of the leader leave the group to join the males of other families. The eldest sons remain in the family as heirs. And the younger ones go to try their luck in other territories and start their own families.
Like all social animals, gorillas do not like to conflict. But when threatened, the male leader becomes scary. His rage has been described by many researchers, and we also know about it from films. The leader, becoming enraged, throws back his head and begins to hoot intermittently, gradually the hoot increases and merges into a continuous roar. Having reached a certain limit, the roar stops, and the leader tears off the leaf and puts it between his lips. At this time, it is better not to be in his way, because a leaf in the mouth is a sign of violent actions. At this time, relatives move away and find shelter. And the male, having risen to his feet, beats himself in the chest, then pulls out tufts of grass or bushes, violently rushes forward (everyone who comes across him at this moment can be killed) and puts all his anger into striking the ground. A few blows - and the leader calms down, sits on the ground and looks around him. The frightened family comes out of their shelters. The rest of the gorilla's emotions are in his eyes; his gaze is capable of expressing all shades of mood, from wild joy to despair and annoyance.
Gorillas suffer from human interference, their numbers are declining, but thanks to the research of scientists, we have learned a lot about them and, quite likely, there are many discoveries ahead related to these great apes.
Order - Primates / Suborder - Dry-nosed / Infraorder - Apes / Parvoorder - Narrow-nosed monkeys/ Superfamily - Great apes/ Family - Hominids / Genus - Gorillas
History of the study
The western gorilla (lat. Gorilla gorilla) is a species of primate from the genus Gorilla (Gorilla) of the family Hominidae.
Spreading
The western gorilla is distributed in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, mainland Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Congo, Angola, and probably the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
They live in lowland tropical forests, primarily with dense herbaceous vegetation and wetlands.
Appearance
The western gorilla is a large primate. In males, the body reaches a length of up to 1.7 m, and the weight can reach up to 160 kg. Females are always smaller - their body is no more than 1.4 m and weighs up to 80 kg. These gorillas are the smallest of the gorilla genus. The head is large, with small ears. The eyes are small. The body is massive, without a tail, covered with dark, almost black hair. There is no hair on the limbs, as well as the face and ears. Over time, the hair on your back begins to fall out. Wide palms end in thick fingers with strong nails. The skin is black throughout the gorilla's life. Gorillas move on all fours, although they often stand upright.
Reproduction
Pregnancy in a female gorilla lasts about 9 months. She can only give birth to one cub, which she carries on her back. Having matured, he begins to move with the group on his own, but his mother takes care of him until he is five years old. Puberty in western gorillas it occurs by age 12. Average duration Their lifespan is about 34 years.
Lifestyle
Western gorillas live in groups of 2 to 20 individuals. The group includes at least one male and several females with offspring. The dominant male leads the group. The young leave her after reaching puberty.
Females move from one group to another during the breeding season.
The distance over which they move ranges from one to four kilometers. The habitat area is about 30 km², but gorillas do not actively defend it. They are able to use tools.
Nutrition
Western gorillas feed exclusively on plant foods. Although their diet mainly consists of fruits and fruits, gorillas also eat young succulent shoots, leaves and aquatic vegetation. Using simple tools - sticks, they dig out edible underground parts of plants. In search of food sources, they travel up to four kilometers every day through difficult terrain - swampy plains covered with thick grass and low-lying tropical forests. Western gorillas cannot swim. The area of territory occupied by one group of gorillas reaches 30 square meters. km.
Number
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists western gorillas as CR (critically endangered). Ebola hemorrhagic fever reduced their numbers in protected areas by one third between 1992 and 2007.
In the 1980s, the number of western gorillas in Equatorial Africa was about 100,000 individuals. Today, the population has declined to 50,000. Research conducted in 2006-2007 shows that about 100,000 unregistered western gorillas live in the wetland forests of Lake Tele, in the Republic of Congo. The most likely number of western gorillas is around 150,000-200,000 individuals.
The river gorillas have a population of approximately 280 individuals, concentrated in about 11 locations. Recent genetic studies suggest that these sites are associated with random migrations of individual gorillas. River gorillas are separated by 250 km from the range of the lowland gorilla. A conservation plan for this subspecies was developed in 2007. The Government of Cameroon has created specifically for these purposes national park on the borders with Nigeria. The park is home to about 115 river gorillas.
Western gorilla and man
Poaching, commercial logging and civil wars in countries where gorillas live are also threats.
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
Gorilla beringei beringei Matschie, 1903
Eastern mountain gorilla or Mountain gorilla(lat. Gorilla beringei beringei listen)) is one of two subspecies of eastern gorillas, the genus Gorilla ( Gorilla) family hominids ( Hominidae). The name is given in honor German officer Friedrich Robert von Behringe(1865-1940), who first discovered the animal in the Virunga Mountains. The subspecies is critically endangered: estimates at the end of 2012 total quantity mountain gorillas did not exceed 880 individuals.
Area
Mountain gorillas have a very limited range in Central Africa in the Great Rift Valley region. They live on the slopes of six extinct volcanoes, in an area about 40 km long and 3-19 km wide, at an altitude of 2200-4300 meters above sea level. There are only two small isolated populations. One is in the volcanic Virunga Mountains at the junction of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda; the second population is in the southwest of Uganda in the region national park Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Structural features
This subspecies is the second largest of the primates, second only to the eastern lowland gorillas. On average, adult male mountain gorillas weigh up to 195 kg, with a height of 150 cm. Females are significantly inferior to males - about 100 kg with a height of 130 cm.
There are about 29 morphological differences between the eastern mountain gorilla and the eastern lowland gorilla, due to adaptation to life on different heights above sea level. Mountain gorillas have thicker and longer fur than other species, allowing them to live in cooler climates. Adult males have well-defined bony ridges on the top and back of the skull, giving their heads a more conical shape. These ridges serve to attach the powerful muscles of mastication. Adult females also have these ridges, but they are less pronounced. Like all gorillas, they have dark brown eyes framed by black rings around the iris.
Lifestyle
Mountain gorillas lead a primarily terrestrial lifestyle, moving on all fours. However, they are quite good at climbing trees, especially the young ones. 
According to Diana (Diane) Fossey, they eat about 58 species of plants, but the basis of their diet is thistle, nettle, wild celery and bedstraw ( Galium). Leaves, shoots and stems make up about 86% of their diet, fruits account for no more than 2%. Also eaten: tree bark, roots, excrement, insect larvae and snails. Adult males can eat up to 34 kg of vegetation per day, while females eat no more than 18 kg.
History of study, protection and conservation of the species
In October 1902, Captain Robert von Beringe (1865-1940) shot and killed two great monkeys during an expedition to establish the boundaries of German East Africa. The remains of one of them were sent to the Zoological Museum in Berlin, where Professor Paul Machi (1861-1926) classified the animal as new uniform gorilla and named it Gorilla beringei.
Excerpt characterizing the Mountain Gorilla“Natalya Ilyinichna,” Pierre began, lowering his eyes and feeling a feeling of pity for her and disgust for the operation that he had to perform, “whether it’s true or not, it shouldn’t matter to you, because...- So it’s not true that he is married! - No, it's true. – Was he married for a long time? - she asked, - honestly? Pierre gave her his word of honor. – Is he still here? – she asked quickly. - Yes, I saw him just now. She was obviously unable to speak and made signs with her hands to leave her. Pierre did not stay for dinner, but immediately left the room and left. He went around the city to look for Anatoly Kuragin, at the thought of whom all the blood now rushed to his heart and he had difficulty catching his breath. In the mountains, among the gypsies, among the Comoneno, it was not there. Pierre went to the club. | |||||||||
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