Alison Hammond is writing a series of articles about animals in danger for Nature Magazine. This week, she tells us about mountain gorillas
What would you do if you sew a mountain gorilla? Most people would probably be very afraid and run away! That’s because gorillas have a very frightening appearance. Firstly gorillas are huge. They can grow up to 2metres tall and can weigh more than 200kilograms (male gorillas weigh twice as female gorilla). Secondly, gorilla can make a lot of noise. They can roar, bang their chests, and show their teeth. In fact these aggressive displays are very rare and male gorillas only do it when they are protecting their families.
The truth is, gorillas are incredibly intelligent gentle, and social animals that stay together in small family groups. The leader is the largest male, called the silverback. That’s because of the beautiful silver fur on its back. They spend almost all of their time on the forest floor, eating and sleeping. They are mainly vegetarian, although they eat some insects. Young gorillas often play together. They run around and climb trees. At night, the animals make a nest to sleep in. The lighter gorillas nest in trees. The heavier gorillas make nests on the ground and the babies sleep with their mothers. Gorillas rarely attack humans. They only fight when something or someone attacks them or their young. In that situation, they will fight to the death. Hunters looking for baby gorillas may have to kill a whole family to get what they want.
Sadly, there are fewer than 650 mountain gorillas left in the wild, which means they are an endangered species. These gorillas only live in the mountain jungles of Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda. They are endangered because people hunt them for food and for trophies they are also threatened by war, and humans cut down their forests for farmland, fuel, end housing. Life for these gentle giants isn’t peaceful.