Nature Trail

Gorillas:

Critically endangered

The largest and most powerful of the primate species in the wild, the gorillas are our closest relatives.

But, we humans have not treated our ‘wild’ relations in a proper manner; we’ve not only destroyed their habitats for our own benefits, but also hunted them down and killed them for their flesh, skin and for various other purposes.

In fact, one of the Western gorilla (Gorilla, gorilla) subspecies, the Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla, gorilla, gorilla ) is listed as critically endangered at present. It is the highest threat category given for any species of animal.

According to researchers, a 1980s survey by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) had revealed that there were only 100,000 gorillas belonging to this subspecies of the Western gorilla left worldwide.

These numbers were believed to have halved since then and the possibility of this subspecies disappearing completely from our planet was growing stronger by the day. But, guess what? A great discovery was made recently. Scientists came across a large troop of western lowland gorillas living in a swamp in Equatorial Africa! Isn’t that really exciting news?

When these scientists and researchers were informed about the existence of a large group of primates in northern Congo, they had gone there to verify it. In fact, they had trekked about 80 km (50 miles) into the jungle from near the road in the outskirts of Lac Tele to get to the swamp where the gorillas had been spotted.

And it had proved to be a rewarding trek with the discovery of not just a couple of hundred of gorillas, but around 125,000 of them. Just imagine how wonderful it is to discover an entire colony of gorillas at a time when this species is under severe threat of extinction?

Now, just in case you are wondering if the expedition team managed to take a census of these creatures to come up with this large number, the answer is no. They had come to this conclusion going by the number of nests gorillas make out of leaves and branches of trees etc to sleep in.

This is indeed a great discovery for humanity, but what impact would it have on the primates who have succeeded to thrive on their own, undisturbed by humans and free from any threats all this time?

Would they be safe from human predators now that they have been discovered, is questionable. Let’s hope they would be highly protected and the entire territory they presently live in is declared a sanctuary and restricted zone, as proposed by the researchers.

Meanwhile, let’s step into the jungle to check out how our closest relatives live on the ‘wild side’ of life...

The western lowland gorilla which is a subspecies of the western gorilla is found in montane, primary and secondary forests and lowland swamps. The countries they inhabit include Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

But, you need not travel all this way to see them up close. All you have to do is make a trip to the zoo. Most zoos around the world have these gorillas on display; sometimes in environments closely resembling their natural habitats, but most often in iron cages with restricted floor area for these large creatures to move about.

These gorillas, like most of the other primates, live in large groups as they are social creatures. However, the western lowland gorillas have the smallest family groups of all gorillas, sometimes numbering about 30 individuals. Their family groups tend to be smaller then that of their mountain cousins.

These highly structured family groups are led by an old, dominant male gorilla known as the silverback due to the patch of silver hair on its back. It is the silverback who regulates what time the family group wakes up, eats, plays and goes to sleep.

The family group consists of the silverback 5-6 females, newborns and adolescents and possibly a few non-dominant males.

The gorillas are very active during the mornings. They wake up after sunrise to search for food and once they find food, spend long hours filling their stomachs. As gorillas are predominantly folivorus (leaf eating) they primarily feed on leaves and stems, rather than fruits. A silverback eats upto 6.5 lbs of vegetation per day. Apart from leaves and plants including bamboo, it occasionally eats insects.

During midday, they take a break and usually the adults take a nap while the young spend the time wrestling and playing.

Researchers who have observed their activity claim that the gorilla offspring closely resemble little children at play. Their games are said to be in line with ‘Follow the leader’ and many such games children generally play.

Once the adults wake up after their midday nap, it’s time once again to eat. However, meal time comes to a close before dusk falls. Then, each gorilla makes a nest to sleep in the night, until daybreak. Then the routine starts all over again.

The silverback is protective of its group, but does not defend its home territory. Even though such groups’ territories overlap sometimes, the gorillas try to steer clear of others’ home territories. So, they hardly have territorial disputes, but when the silverback needs to protect its family, it could turn aggressive - at least in appearance.

When threatened or provoked, the adult male stands on its legs and puts on an elaborate display of aggression. It starts slapping its broad chest with cupped hands, roaring and screaming all the time.

If you encounter a gorilla in this mood you are sure to fall down in a dead faint, or turn back and run as fast as your legs would carry you, screaming for dear life.

But, you will be amazed to learn that for all its show of strength and power, the huge gorilla is characterised as a quiet, peaceful and very non-aggressive animal. It never attacks unless provoked.

Even when confronting another gorilla or an enemy, it first tries to intimidate the opponent with its aggressive display first and if it fails, then resorts to another tactic; rear its head, drop on all fours and charge.

Even in this instance, it does not charge at the opponent, but merely passes by without really hitting the target - as indicated.

Many of you must able to describe how a gorilla looks. It is usually a very big-made creature which is frightful in appearance. A fully grown male is about 6 feet (1.8m) tall when it stands on its hind legs.

It usually weighs about 450 pounds (200 kg). It’s stocky in appearance with a broad chest, muscular neck, strong hands and feet, short muzzle, small, human-like eyes and ears and flared nostrils.

The gorilla has a thick ridge of bone that juts out above the eyes, giving it a very nasty look. Its body is covered with a short, thin grey-black to brown coat of hair except on the face, ears, hands and feet.

The hair on the ridge above the eyes is sometimes reddish brown in colour. Proportionately it has large hands with nails on all digits and very large thumbs. Its teeth are broad and strong and jaw muscles are large.

One of the reasons researchers are highly worried about the depleting numbers is their reproductive cycle. A female gorilla which does not reach maturity to reproduce until about 9-10 years produces only one offspring once every 5-6 years after a gestation period of 9 months.

Generally only the dominant male or silverback fathers offspring in the group. The babies are born helpless like human babies and weigh about 3-5 lbs. But, they grow at twice the rate of human babies.

The babies are carried by their mums until they are three months old by which time they are able to crawl and ride on the backs of their mums. Very often the male gorilla is seen baby-sitting while the females forage for food. The offspring are nursed by their mothers until they are about 3-4 years old.

Well, now you can understand how important these human-like large primates are and make a firm commitment to protect them in whatever small way you can.

As a first step in this direction, you could learn as much as possible about these gorillas and educate others about them.

Creating an awareness is crucial when it comes to protecting other animal species, especially these that are threatened with extinction today. With global warming, the list of endangered species is growing, so get into action now.

 Fact file