Western Lowland Gorilla

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The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is a subspecies of the Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) that lives in montane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps throughout all or parts of Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Of all gorillas it is the gorilla usually found in zoos.

A male Western Lowland Gorilla can stand 6 feet tall and weigh almost 450 lbs.

The Western Lowland Gorilla eats plants and, occasionally, insects. They live in family groupings consisting of one dominant male, 5 to 7 adult females, children and adolescents, and possibly a few non-dominant males.

Adult male Gorillas are prone to a particular form of cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart disease. Babec, a Western Lowland Gorilla on exhibit at the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama (USA) was the first gorilla to receive an artificial pacemaker.

The Western Lowland Gorilla is the most widespread and common gorilla, but is classified as Critically Endangered because its population had declined over 80 percent in 10 years. The Western Lowland Gorilla is critically endangered due to the Ebola virus and their main predators: man (poachers) and leopards.

References

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
• The Gorilla Foundation
• The Big Zoo: Western Lowland Gorilla
• Zoo.org: Western Lowland Gorilla
• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Western Lowland Gorilla
• Oklahoma City Zoo: Western Lowland Gorilla

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Last updated on Saturday March 08, 2008 at 19:00:00 PST (GMT -0800)
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