These great apes
in Uganda are found in the national parks of Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi
Impenetrable Forest. In the republic of Rwanda, they are found in volcanoes
national park and in the Democratic Republic of Rwanda, they are tracked in
Virunga national park. The satisfaction got from any of these places seem to be
the same though depending you how you perceive this activity, the satisfaction derived might change. For
example as it is easy to access and view the gorillas in the Republic of
Rwanda, it is not the same way you will have to access the gorillas in Uganda.
In Uganda, you will have to move long distances in the wilderness in search of
these great apes.
Other
information you need to know about mountain gorillas.
They do live in
very dense vegetation most especially at the bottom of the mountains. Usually,
these forests where the mountain gorillas live are very cloudy and very misty.
They are purely herbivorous animals and this means that their diet is composed
of the leaves, shoots and stems of plant species. These apes also feed on bark
and this composes of 6.9 percent of their diet. The roots do compose 3.3
percent of their diet; flowers compose 2.3 percent while the fruit compose of
1.7 percent. Their diet is also composed
of small invertebrates and this composes of 0.1 percent. The silver backs which
are the male gorillas do eat up to 34 kilograms of the vegetation every day
they go to search for food. The females on the other hand eats up to 18
kilograms. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has got the largest number of mountain
gorilla population. It is a home of over 400 mountain gorillas. In Bwindi
Impenetrable National park, the canopy of the trees make it dark within the
forest. The altitude of the forest are between 1,160 to 2,607 meters above sea
level.
How
they behave when searching for food.
They are sometimes very aggressive and this
most especially when they meet. The meeting might be between two silverbacks
that can sometime engage in a fight which can lead to their death. Their
canines cause gaping injuries. Their
entire sequence basically has nine steps including, progressively
quickening hooting, symbolic feeding,
rising bipedally, throwing vegetation, chest beating with cupped hands, one leg
lick, sideways running, two legged to four legged, slapping and tearing
vegetation and thumping the ground. They
live in groups that do vary in size from 2 to 30 or 40 but most often in groups
of 11 members.
The
mating season of gorillas
Endangered mountain gorillas have got no
mating season. This therefore means that babies are born all year long. The
silver backs which are the male mountain gorillas start breeding at the age of 15 years while the female gorillas
give birth from the age of 10 to 12 years
old. The female gorillas usually give birth every two to three years and
this gives 4 to 6 offsprings during their life span. The silver back do leave
their group at about 11 years of age while the little over half of the females
will leave their group.
Protection in a mountain gorilla group
The silverback,
male gorilla is the main gorilla in each gorilla group. In a group, this
gorilla will determine the movement of the gorilla group and will lead them to
an appropriate feeding sites throughout the year. The silverback also mediates
any conflicts within the group and protects the gorillas from external threats.
In case of any attack by humans, leopards or any other gorilla, it is the
silverback that will protect the other gorillas in the group. This male gorilla
will be the center of attention at the rest sessions. These great apes are very
strong and powerful. Despite of their being strong, they are gentle and very
shy. During the reign of Dian Fossey in Rwanda, she was against the visiting of
mountain gorillas as is done today in Uganda.
In conclusion therefore, their enemies of
the mountain gorillas are humans. They are also threatened by diseases that
humans may bring to the park. This is the reason why Uganda Wildlife Authority
has set up strict rules to prevent the spread of diseases. For more information
about gorillas, send us an email through; peter.kennethwere@gmail.com
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