Gorilla

Gorilla

Contents

1. General Information
2. References and further general reading on gorillas
3. Western gorillas
4. References and further general reading on western gorillas
5. Eastern gorillas
6. References and further general reading on eastern gorillas
7. Sasquatch significance

General Information

Gorillas are the largest living members of the order primates. They are sexually dimorphic with adult males ("silverbacks") weighing around 400 pounds in the wild (heavier in captivity), while females only reach slightly more than half that mass. After chimpanzees, they are the closest living relatives to humans.

Gorilla populations span equatorial Africa from Nigeria in the west to Uganda in the east with a significant gap separating the two gorilla species along and south of the great Congo River through the middle of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists currently recognize two species of gorillas, western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei). All gorillas are classified as endangered species with some of the subspecies considered critically endangered.

Gorilla classification

References and further general reading on gorillas

Primate Information Network gorilla factsheet

Wikipedia gorilla entry

Western gorillas

Western gorillas are currently recognized as being comprised of two separate subspecies with both the most abundant subspecies, western lowand gorillas, that may still number close to 100,000, and the Cross River gorillas, who may number as few as 200-300. Aside from 2 remaining eastern lowland gorillas at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, all of the captive gorillas in zoos around the world are from the western species. Western gorillas are most threatened by habitat loss, poaching for bushmeat, and also recent major outbreaks of ebola virus. They have proven difficult to habituate and therefore to study in the wild until recent years.

References and further general reading on western gorillas

Cross River gorilla information

BBC Science & Nature Wildfacts of Western Gorillas

Eastern gorillas

Eastern gorilla taxonomy is a little more muddled with some authorities arguing that the two isolated populations of mountain gorillas (Virungas and Bwindi) should be classified as separate subspecies. Currently, the combined populations totalling about 750 gorillas are both considered the G. b. beringei subspecies distinguishing them from the eastern lowland or Grauer's gorillas, G. b. graueri. Grauer's gorillas are relatively poorly studied, their population estimates vary widely between a few thousand and up to 20,000, and they are probably the phyiscally largest of all gorillas when properly distinguished from mountain gorillas in the historical collection data.

Mountain gorillas, especially from the Virunga range, remain the best studied, best known, and most widely recognized of the gorilla subspecies. This is partly due to the pioneering studies of George Schaller and later Dian Fossey that helped initiate long-term conservation efforts and extensive ecotourism programs.

References and further general reading on eastern gorillas

BBC Science & Nature Wildfacts of Eastern Gorillas

Sasquatch significance

history of discovery, anecdotal appearance similarity, anatomy, size, NASI report, behavior, costumes,