Virtual Non-Human Primate Zoo
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
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black fur
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hairless face, hands, feet, and breasts
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large head
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broad chest
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long arms
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flat nose with large nostrils
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arm span can reach two meters (6.5 feet) in length
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no tail
DIET: Herbivores
Can eat about 18 kilos (40 lbs) of vegetation a day
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vegetation
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fruits
LOCOMOTION TYPE: Quadrupedal knuckle-walkers
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with occasional bipedalism
SOCIAL GROUP ORGANIZATION:
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stable, cohesive family groups or bands of 6-7members, including multiple females and their young, led by one silverback dominant male
PARENTAL CARE: Mother is primary caregiver
COMMUNICATION:
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Visual: facial expressions and body language/posture, example: chest beating
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Vocal: grunts, whimpters, whines, 'close' calls, barks, hoots
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
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At about 14 years old, the hair in the saddle of the male's back turns white, hence the nicknamed ‘silverback’.
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A male gorilla can weigh up to 160kg (350 lbs.) and measure up to 1.7 m high (5.6 feet).
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A female gorilla can weigh up to 90kg (198 lbs.) and measure up to 1.5 m high (4.9 feet)
ENDANGERMENT STATUS: Critically Endangered (CR)
Major Threats: human activity
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hunting
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mining
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agriculture
To learn more about Gorilla beringei, visit the following websites:
Information and photographs compiled by M. Gomez, S. Monarnes, & R. Parra Monroy (Page last updated 27 Dec 2017)
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorrhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Genus: Gorilla
Species: beringei
COMMON NAME: Eastern Gorilla
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:
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Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
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Rwanda
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Uganda
HABITAT: Tropical Rainforests
Photo Credit: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/mountain-gorilla/
Photo Credit: http://www.arkive.org/eastern-gorilla/gorilla-beringei/image-G113042.html
Photo Credit: http://www.yugzone.ru/picture/bestphoto2007/Officials+look+at+four+mountain+gorillas+that+were+illegally+killed.html