Snarling gorilla

Until recently, the gorilla species 'Gorilla gorilla' was divided into 3 sub-species - the western and eastern lowland gorillas and the mountain gorilla. It has now been divided into two separate species and 5 sub-species, based on differences in their genetics and distribution. The
accepted new names for these gorillas are as follows:

- the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
- and the the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) make up the species 'Gorilla gorilla'

- mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei),
Grauer’s gorilla - previously the eastern lowland
gorilla - (Gorilla gorilla graueri) and the Bwindi gorilla (Gorilla gorilla ???? - currently unnamed) - make up the species Gorilla beringei.

The gorilla pictured is a western lowland gorilla

The mountain, Cross River and Bwindi gorillas are the most threatened with extinction.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
All 5 races of gorilla come from regions of equatorial Africa. The western lowland gorilla has the largest range, and is found in Cameroon, the southwestern corner of the
Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Cabinda (enclave of Angola) and the extreme western tip of Zaire. Within this distribution, the gorillas live in dense primary and secondary rainforest, lowland swamp forest
and montane forest up to about 3000m (9850ft), where the climate is humid, with an annual rainfall of 1½-4m (3-13ft). Gorillas are grounddwellers and as such are much larger and heavier bodied than their arboreal relations, the
orangutans. Gorillas are, however, quite agile and have hands and feet that give a good grip. Nevertheless, Climbing is done with great caution and gorillas rarely jump from tree to tree. In general the heavier the individual, the less time it spends in the trees, consequently youngsters climb the most. Gorillas are diurnal – active during the day and asleep at night, and in
the wild they spend much of the day searching for food and eating. At dusk they make a nest of branches and foliage, usually on the ground, but lighter gorillas may make theirs up a tree.

GORILLA CONSERVATION STATUS
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) currently classifies the gorilla species as Endangered on the Red Data List. This means that it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. However, the Cross River, mountain and Bwindi sub-species are listed as Critically
Endangered as their tiny populations, just a few hundred of each, are under more serious pressure. Since 1975 gorillas have been listed under Appendix I of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which affords them the highest degree of protection against international trade. They are also legally protected from hunting throughout their range,
but these regulations are impossible to enforce.
Together with loss of habitat to farmland, the illegal capture of gorillas for bush meat (any wild-caught animal eaten by people), the pet trade, hunting trophies and souvenirs (gruesome novelties such as gorilla hand ashtrays), threatens the extinction of all races of gorilla. In one small area of Cameroon alone, an estimated 800 gorillas are taken each year, and for the rest of their range, this figure would be many thousands. European logging companies make it easier for poachers to plunder the
forests and also encourage the trade by allowing their workers to hunt apes and use their trucks to transport the bush meat to the urban centres where it is sold. Very often timber trucks are found stacked with gorilla and chimpanzee arms and legs.
Of the 5 gorilla sub-species, the mountain gorilla faces the greatest threat of extinction; just 400 - 600 are thought to remain in the Virunga mountains in a small area around the Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire border. No mountain gorillas are currently kept in captivity. The other subspecies are not in such a critical condition, but their
numbers are still rapidly declining.

For further details visit the website of The Gorilla Foundation www.koko.org/index.php or The Gorilla Organisation www.gorillas.org/