Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

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 on 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.

The gorillas of Uganda 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.

Gorillas are very aggressive and this is 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, 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.

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 silverback do leave their group at about 11 years of age while the little over half of the females will leave their group.

The silverback which is the male gorilla is the main gorilla in each gorilla group. In each group, this gorilla will determine the movement of the gorilla group and will lead them 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.