Do Gorillas Live in Families

Do Gorillas Live in Families?

There are two major gorilla species namely; the western and eastern gorillas. As of today, only four sub-species are recognized and these are visible in different regions of Africa and these sub-species include the following;

  1. Gorilla gorilla gorilla also known as western lowland gorilla located in western parts of Africa.
  2. Gorilla gorilla diehli also known as the cross river gorillas located around the boarder of Nigeria and Cameroon.
  3. Gorilla beringei beringei found in eastern Africa, within the mighty Virunga National park, Volcanoes N/park, Mgahinga and Bwindi impenetrable national parks in D.R. Congo, Rwanda and Uganda respectively.
  4. Grauer’s gorilla also known as eastern lowland gorilla or Gorilla beringei graueri. These can be found in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Kahuzi – Biega national park.

Like human beings, gorillas have families which are also organized with family heads (silver backs i.e. male adults), several female adults and their young ones. The only distinction between these gorillas and mountain gorillas is that the later are fond of living in families with more adult males who are relatives.

The fact that a big number of females live with few males, a good number of males are left lonely and all they do is roaming the forests desperately. These loners are almost five to ten percent of the entire gorilla population. Occasionally, male mountain gorillas / silverbacks form all-male groups.

The size of a gorilla family varies and averagely one family consists between four to ten members. As of today, only one family recorded to have had the biggest number of members lived in Rwanda and had up to 65 members. However, the family stayed together for a short period of time and later disintegrated.

In case of death of a family head, the group dissolves or another silverback takes over, most especially the eldest son of the deceased.

There is always unity and strong bond between a single family most especially when it comes to issues of raising young ones. For instance when the mother dies when the baby is still young, the whole family assumes the responsibility as soon as possible, however the leading silverback plays the leading role to nature the young one.

Where do gorillas live?

Africa’s magnificent tropical rain forests are the homes of these giant apes. Gorillas are evenly distributed in these forests, however the eastern and western gorillas are separated from each other by almost 900 kilometers. The logic behind this separation is that initially the area was split at some point most likely during the ice ages, a time where changes in climate resulted into shrinking of the rain forest into a few refuge areas.

This meant that gorillas did not find comfort to live in the savanna which spread between the refuge areas. Later on, these gorillas made advancements to the Ubangi and Congo rivers after the spreading of the rain forest for the second time.

The separation between eastern and western gorillas for such a long period of time made the two species follow different development paths something that has resulted into their difference in both external features and genetic content.

It is true that over the past decades, boarders of the gorillas’ distribution area have changed instantly. Gorilla habitats have greatly been affected by encroachment, something that has resulted into further separation of these gorillas and forests. Human cultivation has resulted into great separation of these forests. As of today, some mountain gorillas have already left the forests alone.

Uniqueness of gorillas.

Since 1967, mountain gorillas of the mighty Virunga volcanoes have been under continuous observation. This means that a lot to do with their ways of life is well known, which is not the case with some other species of gorillas. Most gorilla families in Virunga volcanoes have been named and their history has been clearly put on record.

Gorillas in Virunga volcanoes are unique in a way that they are the only species of gorillas to have ever lived in such cold temperatures, no wonder their bodies are covered with long silky hair especially their arms.