How Many Mountain Gorillas Are Left in the World 2022: Mountain gorillas are one of Eastern Africa’s treasures, and these wild animals are incredibly intriguing creatures, which explains their appeal. Mountain gorillas have been known to exist since the 17th of October in the year 1902, and they are a subspecies of the gorilla genus’s eastern lowland species. Mountain gorillas have similar physique to other gorilla subspecies, but they have thicker and longer hair, jaws, and teeth.
Mountain gorillas have bigger bodies than lowland gorillas and shorter limbs, and all of these gorillas have a similar characteristic in which elderly males acquire a silver or grey line of hair on their lower backs and occasionally farther to their hips, and they are known as silverback gorillas. The typical weight of an adult male gorilla is roughly 160 kilograms, whereas mature females weigh around 98 kilos.
Mountain gorillas prefer higher elevations ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 meters, and they like to live in montane forests as well as bamboo forests. The social organization of mountain gorillas always contains one dominating silverback, regardless of how many additional silverbacks are present in a group. They live in families, and you’ll see a lot of ladies with their infants.
Population and Distribution of Mountain Gorillas in the world.
There are just two areas in the world where you may see mountain gorillas in the wild: the Virunga Mountains and the Bwindi Forest. The Virunga Mountains are a chain of now-extinct volcanic mountains that extend along the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are the three national parks in this area that are home to mountain gorillas and give the opportunity to hike them.
There have been a variety of hypotheses but no definitive studies on whether the gorillas in the Bwindi Forest are a different subspecies. Humans, particularly poachers, hunters, and land encroachers, have posed a danger to these mountain gorillas in recent years. Mountain gorilla populations were historically threatened by warfare in the area, as some gorillas were seized for the pet trade or sold for meat.
The mountain gorilla species was virtually thought to go extinct in the near future, and it was even included on the IUCN’s list of severely endangered species in 1989, with just around 620 individuals remaining in the globe.
As the years passed and knowledge expanded, major conservation measures were done area wide, and the numbers grew to 1,063 individuals as of the most recent census in 2019. Mountain gorillas have been extensively observed since the early 1950s, and all births have been recorded, resulting in this estimate.
The Virunga range, which includes the Volcanoes national park, the Virunga national park, and the Mgahinga gorilla national park, is one of the few sites where mountain gorillas may be found. On the previous census, this region had 604 individuals living at altitudes ranging from 2,300 meters to 4,500 meters thus How Many Mountain Gorillas Are Left in the World 2022?.
The gorilla population was reduced to around 480 individuals in 2010, however as of the most recent census in 2019, the population has increased by 124 to a total of 604 individuals. A gorilla trekking permit at Mgahinga gorilla national park, Volcanoes national park, and Virunga national park costs 700 USD, 1,500 USD, and 400 USD, respectively.
The Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage, which may be seen during a stay at the Mikeno lodge, is also located in the Virunga national park and is home to three orphaned gorillas.
Mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park were last counted in 2011, with around 400 individuals. The mountain gorillas of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest are substantially smaller in size and may be walked in four different sectors: Buhoma, Nkuringo, Rushaga, and Ruhija.
The Bwindi gorilla population prefers lower elevations ranging from 1,500 to 2,300 meters.
Book a mountain gorilla trekking safari in either of these gorilla habitats, or even all three, so that you can spot and appreciate the various experiences by taking a Rwanda primate safari, a Uganda gorilla trekking safari, or a Congo gorilla safari.
