The gorilla is the largest primate in the world that has been the subject of numerous investigations because its DNA is equal to the DNA of the human being in a percentage of 97-98%. In addition, another behavior that brings the gorilla closer to humans is that it is the only animal that uses tools such as sticks and stones to obtain food.
Its robust and strong appearance should not confuse us about its true behavior, since the gorilla is a vegetarian animal, peaceful and extremely responsible with the environment. If you want to discover more about the largest apes in the world, in this article on our site we will tell you about all the types of gorilla that exist.
Gorilla species and subspecies
There are only species of gorillas in the entire world: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla. Both species live mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, although they can be found in very diverse areas, distinguishing low altitude areas and more mountainous areas of high altitude.
Each species of gorilla contains two more subspecies in its group, let's see this classification.
Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
Within the gorilla species, we find the western gorilla, which is distinguished in the subspecies of the western lowland gorilla and the Cross River gorilla.
- Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) - This gorilla lives in low-lying, swampy areas of countries such as the Republic of from the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Angola or Cameroon, among others. They tend to live in family groups where the male is the dominant member and there are five to seven females with their young and adolescent gorillas. They usually reproduce every five years, having a child for each gestation. As a curiosity of gorillas, it is the smallest subspecies of gorillas. Although most western lowland gorillas are found in zoos, their population is vulnerable to the Ebola virus, deforestation and hunting furtive An example of this type of gorilla was Snowflake, the only known albino gorilla.
- Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) – This subspecies of gorilla is found in the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Nigeria and Cameroon. It is the gorilla that is in greatest danger of extinction among all the gorillas and primates, since it is in critical state of extinction
Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)
Within the gorilla species, we find the eastern gorilla, which is distinguished in the subspecies of mountain gorilla and eastern lowland gorilla. Next, we are going to see them in more detail.
- Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri): we can only see specimens of this gorilla in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is characterized by being much more robust than the western gorilla, as well as having longer teeth and a stronger lower jaw. Their backs turn a silvery color as they grow and the years go by. Like most primates, usually live in groups of between 5 and 30 individuals.
- Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei): in grave danger of extinction, as there are only 720 eastern gorillas left living in the wild. Like the western gorilla, it is also threatened by the Ebola virus and poaching. Like other gorilla species, this eastern gorilla exhibits sexual dimorphism, as males are larger and weigh twice as much as females.
This classification is the only valid one since it is the only one based on a scientific consensus, however, A third subspecies has been proposedwithin the group of eastern gorillas, the Bwindi mountain gorilla, which does not yet have any scientific denomination or Latin name.
You may also be interested in these other two articles on Sexual Dimorphism: definition, curiosities and examples or How do gorillas reproduce and are born?
How are different species of gorillas different?
For a long time it was believed that there was only one species of gorilla and this is because the differences between eastern and western gorillas are minimal, since both animals are very similar in appearance, behavior and diet.
The only differences that can be seen are practically insignificant and are only due to genetic factors:
- The body size: The eastern gorilla is usually larger than the western gorilla. However, the eastern gorilla's neck and arms are shorter than those of the western gorilla.
- The morphology of the nose is different in each species.
- The body hair: This is longer in eastern gorillas than in western gorillas, especially on the arms. In addition, the gray fur in male western gorillas reaches down to the buttocks, while in the others it only covers the back.
- The sound they make to communicate in pack.
- The jaw and teeth: Eastern gorillas have much longer teeth.
- The face: Eastern gorillas have higher faces and closer-set eyes.
Gorillas, primates in danger of extinction
Unfortunately, both gorilla species are in danger of extinction, in fact, the eastern mountain gorilla is the most threatened subspecies due to because it has a very low number of copies.
The gorilla has no natural predators, therefore its risk of extinction is due to the destruction of its natural habitat and numerous human behaviors that put their survival at risk, hence it is important to create enough awareness to avoid the disappearance of this species, so similar to us in some aspects.
Another factor that contributes to the extinction risk of gorillas is that they dedicate themselves exclusively to their young for approximately 6 years, for Therefore, the birth rate is very low and the recovery of populations ends up being truly complex.
