Eastern Lowland Gorilla

The Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) is a subspecies of Eastern Gorilla that is now only found in the forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This subspecies is more robust in appearance than the Western Lowland Gorilla, having longer teeth, a stronger jaw and a broader torso. They have black coats which in males, like other gorillas, turns silver at the back as the animal matures.

Habitat and diet

Eastern Lowland Gorillas are predominantly herbivorous, eating mostly leaves. They are known to eat only a few leaves from a single plant, allowing the plant to regrow. They will also eat fruit, seeds, bamboo shoots and insects.

Size

The Eastern Lowland Gorilla subspecies is the largest living primate. The maximum size of a male gorilla can be over 225 kg (500 lb) and 1.83 m (6 ft) in the wild, with much heavier weights recorded in captivity. Some males are recorded to have weighed 275, 286.5, 311.5, 318 and 338 kg. The record weight seems to be the 388 kg of a male named Phil which lived between 1941 - 1958 in the St. Louis Zoo. Phil's measurments were: height 180 cm, bust 182 cm, neck 91.5 cm, wrist 38 cm. He was weighed on a verified weight after an eight week long diet.

Behavior

Eastern Lowland Gorillas tend to be sociable and peaceful, living in groups of 5 to 30. A group usually consists of one silverback and few subdominant males. Silverbacks are the strong, dominant troop leaders (see alpha male). They are in charge of leading the group to food and protecting the group from danger. Males will slowly begin to leave their original group when they reach maturity, usually traveling with a group of other males for a few years before being able to attract females to form a new group.

Reproduction

A female will give birth to twins or a single infant after a gestation period of about 8 ½ months. They breastfeed for about 12 months. The baby can crawl at around 9 weeks old and can walk at about 35 weeks old. Infant gorillas normally stay with their mother for 3 to 4 years and mature at around 11 to 12 years old.

Translation of "Eastern Lowland Gorilla"

German: Östlicher Flachlandgorilla, Spanish: Gorilla beringei graueri, French: Gorille des plaines de l'est, Italian: Gorilla beringei graueri, Hungarian: Keleti síkvidéki gorilla, Portuguese: Gorilla beringei graueri, Finnish: Itäinen tasankogorilla, Chinese: 東部低地大猩猩.