Gorillas are charismatic animals and have been fascinating us by their intelligence for years. They are in danger as they are losing their natural habitat to human settlement. A natural habitat is the only place where animals can survive and live comfortably. Gorilla like all other animals love to live in their natural habitat. We have gathered complete information on “Where do Gorillas Live” and what forms the natural Gorilla Habitat. You are going to learn where the different species of gorilla live and what are the causes of their habitat loss.
Where Do Gorillas Live – Gorilla Habitat
- Gorillas are native to the continent of Africa.
- All the species and subspecies of gorillas are not confined to a particular region in Africa.
- They have a disperse distribution all around the tropical and subtropical forests in Africa.
- Dense forests, swamps and rainforests are their favorable habitats.
Where Do Gorillas Live In The Wild – Gorillas Natural Habitat
- The tropical and subtropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa are the natural habitats of gorillas.
- The two species of gorilla cover different regions.
- Eastern gorillas inhabit east central Africa while western gorillas inhabit west central Africa.
- Congo river and its affluents separate their home areas.
Where Do Gorillas Live In The Rainforest – Rainforest Gorilla Habitat
- Gorillas live in the rainforests of Africa on both sides of the Congo river.
- A rainforest consists of layers; the emergent layer, the canopy layer, the understory layer and the forest floor layer. Each layer play an important role in helping the inhabitants to survive.
- Gorillas live in the floor layer of rainforests.
Where Do Gorillas Live In Africa
- Gorillas live in the tropical and subtropical forests of Africa.
- These forests occur in:
- Angola
- Republic of the Congo
- Cameroon
- Equatorial Guinea
- Central African Republic
- Gabon
- the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- the southwestern parts of Rwanda and Uganda.
Where Do Most Gorillas Live
- Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is the most populous species of gorilla.
- More than 100,000 western lowland gorillas live in the wild and are found in:
- Cameroon
- the Central African Republic
- the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- The Republic of Congo
- Individuals of this species live in Primary and Secondary forests, lowland swamps and montane forests of Central Africa.
Where Do Eastern Gorillas Live – Eastern Gorilla Habitat
- Eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) live in montane and sub-montane forests at the Eastern side of Congo river.
- Their habitats lay at higher elevations, about 2,130 to 13,120 feet above the sea level.
Where Do Mountain Gorillas Live – Mountain Gorilla Habitat
- Of all the gorilla subspecies, mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) live at the highest peaks of altitude ranges from 2,200 to 4,000 meters above the sea level.
- Mountain gorilla is a subspecies of eastern gorillas that found in two populations.
- One population live in the subalpine and cloud forests of the Virunga Volcano mountains.
- The other one is found in dense forests of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Eastern Lowland Gorilla Habitat
- Eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) are indigenous to the sub-montane forests, montane bamboo forests and lowland swampy forests of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- They live at a slightly lower elevation range from about 2,000 to 3,300 meters above the sea level.
- The important populations of this gorilla subspecies inhabit Maiko and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks and its adjoining forests.
Where Do Western Gorillas Live – Western Gorilla Habitat
- The habitats of Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) lay at the western side of Congo river.
- They live in montane forests as well as in lowland swamp forests.
- In contrast to eastern gorillas, western gorillas live at lower altitudes, about 490 to 5,200 feet above the sea level.
Western Lowland Gorilla Habitat
- Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) mainly live in rainforests and swamp forests at about 1,300 meters altitude from sea level.
- The average amount of rainfall at their home region is about 1,500 millimeters per year.
- The individuals of this subspecies usually avoid to live near human villages, roads and farms.
- They prefer areas rich in edible plants like swamp forests.
- Majority of the western lowland gorillas are currently live in the forests of the Republic of Congo.
Cross River Gorilla Habitat
- Like western lowland gorilla subspecies, cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) also like to live in dense forests away from humans’ activity.
- Forests, where cross river gorillas live, vary in elevation from about 328 to 6,683 feet (100 to 2,037) above the sea level.
- Cross river gorillas mostly live in tropical and subtropical moist forests (also called tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests) around Cameroon-Nigeria border.
- Their home area is about 12,000 km2 with estimated population sizes of about 125 to 185 in Cameroon and 75 to 110 in Nigeria.
Where Do Silverback Gorillas Live – Silverback Gorilla Habitat
- Silverback gorillas are mature adult male gorillas having silver hair on their backs.
- Silverback gorillas of different subspecies have different habitats.
- Silverback mountain gorillas live at high altitudes in the forests of Virunga Volcanoes, while silverbacks of eastern lowland gorilla subspecies live at the mountain forests of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Silverback western gorillas live in montane rainforests and lowland swamp forests at the western side of Congo river.
Where Do Gorillas Live Map
Gorilla Habitat Loss
- Fragmentation of land and severe deforestation are the main factors involved in the habitat loss of gorillas. Such factors significantly reduced the survival chances of gorillas.
- Other human activities involved in the habitat loss of gorillas are;
- Logging (cutting of forest for wood)
- Harvesting wood for fuel
- Land clearance for plantation
- Agriculture
- Human resources exploitation
Mountain Gorilla Habitat Loss
- Mountain gorillas are losing their habitat due to the fast expansion of human settlements.
- Near the habitat of mountain gorillas, there is a remote area where more than 100,000 people live.
- The area is isolated from the rest of the country and does not have transportation links.
- In such case, the requirement of land for cultivation reduced the mountain gorillas habitat.
- In 1994, a large number of Rwandan refugees got shield from the Rwandan genocide in camps built near the boundary of Virunga National Park; the habitat of mountain gorillas.
- That settlement led to an uncontrolled harvesting of wood for fuel and resulted in the reduction of mountain gorillas’ habitat.
- According to an evidence unveiled by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (a partner of WWF), illegal settlers cleared more than 1,500 hectares of mountain gorillas habitat in Virunga National Park in 2004.
Gorilla Habitat Facts
- All the species and subspecies of genus gorilla are native to Africa.
- They inhabit the tropical and subtropical dense forests, where temperature ranges between 4 and 25-degree centigrade in cold and hot seasons respectively.
- Their habitat have daylight for about 12 hours.
- Congo river separates the habitat zones of the two species of gorilla, eastern gorillas inhabit the eastern side while the western gorillas the western side of the Congo river.
- All the species, subspecies and even different populations within a subspecies live at different altitudes above the sea level.
Gorilla Zoo Habitat
- There are about 4,000 gorillas in zoos in different countries.
- Gorillas usually live longer in captivity due to special care and adequate nutrition.
- However, they may be susceptible to various human diseases in captivity due to genetic closeness with humans.
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