Today is World Tourism
Day and celebrations are taking place at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. Even
as Uganda lauds the animals and flora and fauna she has, research shows that
the gorillas, one of Uganda’s biggest and most unique tourism export is at
risk.
The
Gorilla: Man’s closest cousin, who is on the verge of extinction
Amazing
gorilla facts
1. Gorillas are the
largest living primates - the family of animals that includes monkeys, apes and
humans. A mature male gorilla can be over 6 feet tall and weigh 300 to 500
pounds (136Kgs - 226Kgs). He can spread his arms eight feet across and is as
strong as four to eight strong men. Adult female gorillas are about half the
size of the males.
2. Like humans,
gorillas have two legs and two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, small ears on the
side of the head, forward-looking eyes and 32 teeth. Unlike us, their arms are
longer and more muscular than their legs, and their big toes look like thumbs.
Their bodies are covered by thick dark hair, except on the face, chest,
underarms, and palms of the hands and soles of the feet. An adult male gorilla
becomes a “silver back” at about age 15 when he is full grown and the hair on
his back turns silvery-gray.
3. Gorillas normally walk by putting their feet flat and walking on the knuckles of their hands.
They can stand upright, but they don’t do it very often. When they do, it is
often to “chest slap.” Gorillas do not beat their chests with their fists but
with open cupped hands, making the familiar loud sound which can indicate
aggression or excitement.
4. Gorillas can live
more than 50 years. Newborn gorillas are very small, weighing only about 4 1/2
pounds (two kg). They are helpless at birth and depend on their mothers for at
least three years, and they usually stay in their family group as they grow up.
Females mature at 10 to 12 years and males at 11 to 13 years. Young gorillas
must learn from their group how to find food, make nests, take care of babies
and get along with other gorillas.
5. Gorillas communicate
with each other by using gestures, body postures, facial expressions, vocal
sounds, chest slaps, drumming and odors. Although they cannot make the sounds
of human speech, gorillas are capable of understanding spoken languages and
they can learn to communicate in sign language.
6. Gorillas are very
intelligent, and they share with us a full range of emotions: love, hate, fear,
grief, joy, greed, generosity, pride, shame, empathy, and jealousy. They laugh
when they are tickled and cry when they are sad or hurt. Gorillas cry with
sounds, not tears.
7. Gorillas sleep about
13 hours each night and rest for several hours at midday. They build new
sleeping nests every night by bending nearby plants into a springy platform,
usually on the ground or in low trees. When not resting they spend most of
their time looking for food and eating it. They eat mostly plant foods: leaves,
shoots, fruits, bulbs, bark, vines and nettles. They also eat ants, termites,
grubs, worms and insect larvae.
8. There are three
types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain gorillas. The
names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Mountain gorillas
are the most critically endangered, with conservative estimates of only 400 to
600 living at this time.
Threats
Habitat
Loss
Gorillas live in one of
the most densely populated regions of Africa. Conversion of land for
agriculture and competition for limited natural resources such as firewood lead
to varying degrees of deforestation.
Diseases
Since gorillas are our
cousins and we share DNA, they can get some of our diseases that can be
devastating to their population. A cold can kill a gorilla.
Poaching
Poaching continues to
jeopardize the gorillas’ survival. Gorillas can get caught in snares, which are
set to catch other wildlife but occasionally kill or injure gorillas. Recent
events have shown that hunting of mountain gorillas in order to capture babies’
remains a very real threat.
Armed
conflict
The region’s ongoing
conflict and civil unrest are an ever-present risk. Illegal mining in DRC has
had a devastating effect on wildlife.
Oil
and gas exploration
European oil and gas
companies have been granted exploration concession in Virunga National Park,
where some of DRC’s mountain gorilla population lives. While the habitat does not
currently fall within an oil concession, development in the park could
negatively affect the animals’ security.
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