Western Lowland Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Irish Name: Gorilla ísealchríche thiar

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered

Western lowland gorillas are a subspecies of the Western gorilla, one of two species of gorilla. They are large primates with black-brown hair, which covers the whole body excluding the face, ears, palms and the soles of their feet. Males are larger than females and grow silver hair on their back when they become the dominant male. This gives them the name ‘silverback’. The western lowland gorilla is the smallest of the four subspecies of gorillas.

Western Lowland Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Irish Name: Gorilla ísealchríche thiar

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered

General Information

Where do they live? (Natural habitat)

Western lowland gorillas live in tropical rainforests and lowland swampy forests in Angola, Cameron, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

How long do they live for?

35 years old in the wild and approximately 55 years old in zoos.

What do they eat?

An adult male will eat up to 18 kilograms of food each day; that is equal to the weight of over 100 bananas. Their diet includes fruit, seeds, leaves, stems, bark, shoots, roots, petioles, bracts, vine tendrils, invertebrates and earth.

Closest Related Species/Sister Species

The closest relative of the western lowland gorilla is the other subspecies of western gorilla, the Cross River gorilla.

Group Name

Troop

Zoo Location

African plains

Animal Class

Mammalia

Animal Order

Primates

Fun Facts

Piggy-backs

A baby gorilla can cling to the fur on his mother’s back when moving through the forest, leaving the mother’s hands free for walking.

Silverback

The adult male who leads the troop is known as the ‘silverback’ because he has grey hair on his back. He is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the members of his troop. The silverback makes all the decisions, such as where the troop will travel for food each day, when they will stop to eat or rest, and where they will spend the night.

Nose-prints

No two gorilla noses are alike. The ‘nose-prints’ of gorillas are as distinctive as human fingerprints — no two are identical.

Largest Primate

Gorillas are the largest of all primates, the group of animals that includes lemurs, monkeys, orangutans, chimpanzees, and humans.

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Family Life

Western lowland gorillas live in troops of approximately 4-8 individuals led by a dominant male, the ‘silverback’. This is a smaller troop size than other gorilla subspecies. Adult males may also travel for years in ‘bachelor groups’ (groups of males) after they leave their birth group, until they become silverbacks and are able to attract females and establish their own troop.

Baby name

Infant

Gestation period

8.5-9 months

Number of young at birth

Weight at birth

Approximately 2 kg

Age at maturity

Between 8-12 years old for females, males a few years later at greater than 13 years old.

Size male adult

1.5 - 1.8 m in height standing upright. Approximately 140-270 kg

Size female adult

Approximately 1.5 m in height standing upright. Approximately 90-130 kg

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Conservation

Critically Endangered

Western lowland gorillas are classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Current population estimate

There are an estimated 315,000 western lowland gorillas remaining in the wild, but their numbers are dropping by approximately 2.7% every year.

Threats

The main threats to western lowland gorillas are destruction of their habitat due to mining, deforestation and climate change, poaching for bushmeat and disease (e.g. Ebola virus).

What is Dublin Zoo doing?

In 2010, Dublin Zoo began supporting the Mbeli Bai Study in the Republic of Congo. This project has been collecting valuable long-term data on western lowland gorillas in Mbeli Bai in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park since 1995. The Mbeli Bai Study also raises awareness about gorillas in the local area including educating children about local wildlife to discourage the hunting and eating of gorillas.

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