The Western Lowland Gorillas also known scientifically as Gorilla gorilla gorilla are highly endangered species. They are primarily found in alpine, primary, and secondary tropical forests and vast lowland swamps in central Africa.
Endangered Status of the Organism:
Population Trends
The population of western gorillas have been rapidly decreasing and there is now estimated a bit over 100,000 in the wild. The western lowland gorilla population in the wild is faced by a number of factors that threaten its extinction. Such factors include deforestation, grazing, farming, and the expansion of human settlements, causing forest loss. There is also an association between human intervention in the wild with the destruction of habitats and increase in bushmeat hunting. Surprisingly, habitat loss is not the major driver of ape decline in this region. Rather,
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These species have a predicted population reduction of more than 80% over three generations. The gorilla’s population have declined by more than estimated 70% over the last 20 years. Even if all of the threats to western lowland gorillas were removed, scientists have calculated that the population of species would require over 75 years to recover.
Reproductive Status & Disease
Female Western lowland gorillas do not produce many offspring as they do not reach sexual maturity until they turn eight or nine. Female gorillas give birth to one infant after being pregnant for approximately nine months. Unlike powerful full grown gorillas, newborns are very small and only weigh a bit more then 2kg. These baby gorillas tend to ride on their mothers backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives. Infants can be dependent on their mother for up to five years. A study of over 300 births of captive female gorillas revealed that older females show the tendency to give birth to more male gendered