GORILLA SAFARIS

  Why Escape to Africa?15 years in depth knowledge of all the countries we operate inHand picked tours with the best and most reputable operatorsHighly personnal service and attention to detail

  10 facts about Gorillas

  ' you may not know '

1. They are the largest living species of primate, the order we humans are also a member of. In fact our DNA is over a 95% match to theirs. Only Bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) and Chimpanzees are more closely related to us.

2. There are 2 species of Gorilla, Western and Eastern and a further 4 or possibly 5 subspecies. The Bwindi Mountain Gorilla sub species of Eastern Gorillas is awaiting its official sub species status.

3. The American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the Western Gorilla (they called it Troglodytes gorilla) in 1847. The name was derived from Greek (Gorillai), meaning "tribe of hairy women", described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to West Africa (circa 480 BC)

4. Mountain gorillas have longer hair and shorter arms than their lowland cousins. They also tend to be a bit larger than other gorillas. Gorillas can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals. Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.

5. The bad news is the incredibly low numbers that remain of these terribly endangered creatures.
Eastern Lowland Gorilla:< 3000
Mountain Gorilla: < 720
Western Lowland Gorilla: 100,000
Cross River Gorilla: 300

6. Recent research has shown that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that aggressively infects millions of humans each year has been found in gorillas, along with two new species of malaria parasite. Ebola virus is extremely lethal for humans and other great apes including gorillas. Between 2001 and 2005, at least 5,500 were killed at the Lossi Sanctuary in northwest Republic of Congo. Mountain gorillas have not yet been affected.

7. Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk bipedally for short distances while carrying food or in defensive situations. Adult males, also called silverbacks, range in height 5 ft 5 in–5 ft 9 in, and in weight 310–440 lb.

8. Jim Bishop an american writer once said ' watching your daughter being collected by her date feels like handing over a million dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla'. Having seen these gentle giants up close i disagree and would happily give a Stradivarius to a gorilla.
Dian Fossey once said 'I feel more comfortable with gorillas than people. I can anticipate what a gorilla's going to do, and they're purely motivated'.

9. Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 feet in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the ground.

10. Like humans, gorillas have individual finger prints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Similar to humans, the leading cause of death in gorillas is cardiovascular disease.