DESCRIPTION:
Western lowland gorillas are smaller and lighter than the other gorilla species, with short hair and a wider skull. There is also a more outstanding difference between the sexes, with females being almost half the size of a male gorilla. Western Lowlands have a Brown, grey and black coat of hair on their skin to protect and keep their body warm with a red or auburn crest on their head. |
REPRODUCTIONWestern Lowland Gorillas do not have a distinct season when it comes to breeding. The pregnancy lasts from 8 – 9 months. One infant gorilla is normally produced and twins are rare when it comes to birth. When the baby gorilla is born the infant weighs 1.8 – 2.3 kilograms and the mother gorilla holds her newborn infant belly-to-belly for close contact until it develops the strength.
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HABITATThe western lowland gorilla lives in forests and lowland swamps in central Africa in Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon and the gorilla is also mostly found at the zoo due to its deceasing numbers.
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DIETThe diet of a Western Lowland gorilla, the gorilla consumes parts of at least 97 plant species. About 70% of their diet is fruit, 25% is leaves, seeds and stems and 5% insects. Gorillas are able to survive on vegetation such as leaves, stems, roots, vines, herbs, trees, and grasses but such vegetation has relatively low nutritional quality and therefore use fruit as their supplement of protein.
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LIFESPAN:
The life span of a Gorilla can be lived over 40 years of age. Western Lowlands are tended to have an average life span of 35 years when living in the wild and can live 50 years in captivity.
POPULATION SIZE;
The western lowland gorilla has the biggest number gorillas from the smaller subspecies. There are no correct estimates of their numbers are possible as these gorillas are known to be spread over most of African and in dense rainforests. The gorilla’s population is decreasing and is thought that there is 100,000 Western Lowland gorillas left and they are now critically endangered.