| UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED OUR FILES ARE CREATED IN .PDF FORMAT - YOU MAY DOWNLOAD ACROBAT HERE |
 |
| Home About Contact Audio Books Lit Arts Language Pre-K Free ESL Resources Online Games Book of the Day Maths Gallery |
| Gorilla Conservation Status : Critically Endangered |
| Gorillas, the largest of the living primates, are ground- dwelling omnivores that inhabit the forests of Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and (still under debate as of 2007) either four or five subspecies. Its DNA is 97%–98% identical to that of a human, and are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species. |
African Fauna provides great information on all African animals and more.
| If you have a South African and/or Wildlife based website and wish to advertise your site within these pages, please contact this siteowner for details. |
| Some Information & Graphics obtained from Wikipedia |
| Download this Fun Fact eBook with notebooking pages. Click on the link or right-click and "save as" to your computer. |
Activities & Printables
Watch Videos:
Interactive Crossword
Printable Crossword Answer Key
Try this Fun Quiz :o)
Gallery
Africa Unit Study, Activities & Lesson Plans
Watch Videos:
- a family of Mountain Gorillas (including one huge Silverback) in Parc
National de Volcans, Rwanda, Africa in July 2006. - Sky News Correspondent David Bowden gets up close and personal
with mountain gorillas in the Rwandan jungle.
Interactive Crossword
Printable Crossword Answer Key
Try this Fun Quiz :o)
Gallery
Africa Unit Study, Activities & Lesson Plans
| Africa South Africa Fun Animal Printables Countries Language Africa Map Crafts & Activities Literature Animals |
Home
About
Activities
Africa
Alphabet
Bible
Colour & Activity
Contact
Crafts
Curriculum
Calendar
Dolch Words
Freebies
Gallery
Games
Health
Homeschooling
Kids Fun Pages
Language
Links
Maths
Menus4Moms
Nursery Rhymes
Parents
Phonics
Pre-K
Services
Site Map
South Africa
Spelling
Surfnet Kids
Teens
Themes
WAHM
About
Activities
Africa
Alphabet
Bible
Colour & Activity
Contact
Crafts
Curriculum
Calendar
Dolch Words
Freebies
Gallery
Games
Health
Homeschooling
Kids Fun Pages
Language
Links
Maths
Menus4Moms
Nursery Rhymes
Parents
Phonics
Pre-K
Services
Site Map
South Africa
Spelling
Surfnet Kids
Teens
Themes
WAHM
Simply put :o)
A Gorilla is an ape, the biggest member of the primate order. It lives in Africa. The
Gorillas' habitats (living places) are being wiped out by forest cutting for wood.
Gorillas will not usually attack but if provoked become very aggressive. One Case
of Gorilla Attack is when a 8 foot tall gorilla killed three children.
There are several (sub-)species of gorilla:
Western Lowland Gorilla
The Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is the most populous species of the genus
Gorilla. Nearly all of the individuals of this taxon belong to the Western Lowland
Gorilla subspecies (G. g. gorilla) whose population is approximately 94,000
individuals. There are fewer than 300 of the only other Western Gorilla subspecies,
the Cross River Gorilla. Wild western gorillas are known to use tools.
The World Conservation Union lists the Western Gorilla as critically endangered,
the most severe denomination next to global extinction, on its 2007 Red List of
Threatened Species. The Ebola virus is depleting Western Gorilla populations to a
point where it might become impossible for them to recover
Cross River Gorilla
Mountain Gorilla
Eastern Lowland Gorilla
Gorillas are the biggest primates. They can become very heavy, and are very
strong. They have black skin and fur. Male gorillas' fur becomes silver/grey on their
backs as they become older. Because of that older males are called silverbacks.
Life & Location
Gorillas live in the rainforests in Central Africa. See our pages on Cameroon Rain
Forest and the accompanying activity book. They mostly live on the ground, but
they can also climb. When on the ground, they walk on their feet and finger
knuckles. They are mostly herbivores, and eat leaves and fruit.
After a pregnancy of 8½ - 9 months the female gives birth to usually one baby. It
stays with its mother for 3-4 years. Gorillas can live for up to 50 years.
A silverback is an adult male gorilla, typically more than 12 years of age and
named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back. A silverback gorilla has
large canines that come with maturity. Black backs are sexually mature males of
up to 11 years of age.
Silverbacks are the strong, dominant troop leaders. Each typically leads a troop of
5 to 30 gorillas and is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions,
mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others
to feeding sites and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop.
Males will slowly begin to leave their original troop when they are about 11 years
old, travelling alone or with a group of other males for 2–5 years before being able
to attract females to form a new group and start breeding. While infant gorillas
normally stay with their mother for 3–4 years, silverbacks will care for weaned
young orphans, though never to the extent of carrying the little gorillas.
If challenged by a younger or even by an outsider male, a silverback will scream,
beat his chest, break branches, bare his teeth, then charge forward. Sometimes a
younger male in the group can take over leadership from an old male. If the leader
is killed by disease, accident, fighting or poachers, the group will split up, as the
animals disperse to look for a new protective male. Very occasionally, a group
might be taken over in its entirety by another male. There is a strong risk that the
new male may kill the infants of the dead silverback.
Founded by Dian Fossey in 1978 to save the Gorillas.
Dedicated to the conservation of gorillas and their habitats in Africa through anti-
poaching, regular monitoring, research, education and support of local
communities, DFGFI uniquely continues to promote the ideals and vision of Dr. Dian
Fossey.
A Gorilla is an ape, the biggest member of the primate order. It lives in Africa. The
Gorillas' habitats (living places) are being wiped out by forest cutting for wood.
Gorillas will not usually attack but if provoked become very aggressive. One Case
of Gorilla Attack is when a 8 foot tall gorilla killed three children.
There are several (sub-)species of gorilla:
Western Lowland Gorilla
The Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) is the most populous species of the genus
Gorilla. Nearly all of the individuals of this taxon belong to the Western Lowland
Gorilla subspecies (G. g. gorilla) whose population is approximately 94,000
individuals. There are fewer than 300 of the only other Western Gorilla subspecies,
the Cross River Gorilla. Wild western gorillas are known to use tools.
The World Conservation Union lists the Western Gorilla as critically endangered,
the most severe denomination next to global extinction, on its 2007 Red List of
Threatened Species. The Ebola virus is depleting Western Gorilla populations to a
point where it might become impossible for them to recover
Cross River Gorilla
Mountain Gorilla
Eastern Lowland Gorilla
Gorillas are the biggest primates. They can become very heavy, and are very
strong. They have black skin and fur. Male gorillas' fur becomes silver/grey on their
backs as they become older. Because of that older males are called silverbacks.
Life & Location
Gorillas live in the rainforests in Central Africa. See our pages on Cameroon Rain
Forest and the accompanying activity book. They mostly live on the ground, but
they can also climb. When on the ground, they walk on their feet and finger
knuckles. They are mostly herbivores, and eat leaves and fruit.
After a pregnancy of 8½ - 9 months the female gives birth to usually one baby. It
stays with its mother for 3-4 years. Gorillas can live for up to 50 years.
A silverback is an adult male gorilla, typically more than 12 years of age and
named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back. A silverback gorilla has
large canines that come with maturity. Black backs are sexually mature males of
up to 11 years of age.
Silverbacks are the strong, dominant troop leaders. Each typically leads a troop of
5 to 30 gorillas and is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions,
mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others
to feeding sites and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop.
Males will slowly begin to leave their original troop when they are about 11 years
old, travelling alone or with a group of other males for 2–5 years before being able
to attract females to form a new group and start breeding. While infant gorillas
normally stay with their mother for 3–4 years, silverbacks will care for weaned
young orphans, though never to the extent of carrying the little gorillas.
If challenged by a younger or even by an outsider male, a silverback will scream,
beat his chest, break branches, bare his teeth, then charge forward. Sometimes a
younger male in the group can take over leadership from an old male. If the leader
is killed by disease, accident, fighting or poachers, the group will split up, as the
animals disperse to look for a new protective male. Very occasionally, a group
might be taken over in its entirety by another male. There is a strong risk that the
new male may kill the infants of the dead silverback.
Founded by Dian Fossey in 1978 to save the Gorillas.
Dedicated to the conservation of gorillas and their habitats in Africa through anti-
poaching, regular monitoring, research, education and support of local
communities, DFGFI uniquely continues to promote the ideals and vision of Dr. Dian
Fossey.
| hayhaenen : Near the border of Uganda, Congo and Rwanda live the last remaining 600 mountain gorillas of this world. |
| Show your support by signing up for DFGFI's Visa credit card! DFGFI receives $30 for every new card sign up and a percentage when you shop and renew. Plus this Visa Rewards cards allows you to earn points with easy online redemption. Shop and save the gorillas! » Apply Online |
| Conservation Work Africa A variety of Conservation and Volunteer Projects in Africa |