Eastern lowland gorilla

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Eastern lowland gorilla
Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) in the Kahuzi Biéga National Park

Eastern lowland gorilla ( Gorilla beringei graueri ) in the Kahuzi Biéga National Park

Systematics
Superfamily : Human (Hominoidea)
Family : Apes (Hominidae)
Subfamily : Homininae
Genre : Gorillas ( gorilla )
Type : Eastern gorilla ( Gorilla beringei )
Subspecies : Eastern lowland gorilla
Scientific name
Gorilla beringei graueri
Matschie , 1914

The Eastern lowland gorilla ( Gorilla beringei graueri ), also Gray Gorilla called (after the Austrian explorer Rudolf Gray ) is a subspecies of eastern gorillas from the primate family of apes (Hominidae). The second subspecies are the mountain gorillas , with which the eastern lowland gorillas are more closely related than with the western lowland gorillas .

features

Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest subspecies of the gorillas and thus the largest living primates . Males can stand up to 1.75 meters high (usually keeping their knees slightly bent, otherwise they would be around 2 meters high), females are much smaller. There are different information about the weight of males: some sources speak of up to 200 kilograms, others of up to 275 kilograms, the females are significantly lighter and only reach about half the weight of the males. The fur is black (as with the mountain gorilla), older males are characterized by a silver coloration of the fur ("silverback") like all gorillas, in contrast to the western lowland gorillas the silver coloration is limited to the back. They differ from the mountain gorillas in that their hair is slightly shorter (especially on the arms), because of their wider, heavier build, longer arms and narrower face.

Distribution and way of life

Eastern lowland gorillas only inhabit the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . As with all gorillas, the habitat of these animals is forests; this subspecies inhabits valleys and hilly landscapes in the rainforest area, but also secondary forests . They occur at altitudes of 500 to 2800 meters.

Eastern lowland gorillas, like all gorillas, live together in groups, which usually consist of one male, several females and the common offspring. Social behavior is flexible; group members can also split up and come back together at short notice ("Fission-Fusion-Organization"). The territorial behavior is little developed, the relatively small grazing areas of the individual groups overlap considerably. Even so, the groups usually avoid each other.

Like all gorillas, they are diurnal, when they sleep they build leaf nests in the trees or on the ground, which are usually only used once.

nutrition

Young animal in the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park

In contrast to the closely related mountain gorillas , fruits play a larger role in their diet, they also consume leaves and other plant material. Foraging can be done on the ground or in the trees; In contrast to mountain gorillas, males can often be found in the trees. The extent to which they also eat insects and other small animals is controversial.

Eastern lowland gorillas and humans

The range of the eastern lowland gorillas has been greatly reduced by human habitation. Most of the animals now live in the Kahuzi Biéga National Park , there are other stocks in the Maiko National Park and the Itombwe Forest. Since the monitoring of the nature reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is very patchy due to the civil war-like conditions, these animals are threatened by hunting ("bushmeat") and by the extraction of the ore coltan and the associated habitat destruction. The IUCN speaks of a frightening decline in populations over the past decade. In the mid-1990s, the total population was estimated at around 17,000 animals, but studies have shown that there are fewer than 5,000 of these animals today. The subspecies is (by the IUCN as "critically endangered" endangered ) listed.

Eastern lowland gorillas have always been extremely rare in zoos. Across Europe there is currently only a single female (together with a group of western lowland gorillas) in the Belgian Antwerp Zoo .

Systematics

In the past, all gorilla populations were grouped together in a single species, today a distinction is made between two species, the western and the eastern gorilla . The eastern lowland gorilla is a subspecies of the eastern gorilla and is therefore more closely related to the mountain gorilla , the second subspecies, than to the western lowland gorilla . The systematic status of the gorillas in the Bwindi area is unclear; these animals may represent a third subspecies ("Bwindigorilla") of the Eastern gorillas.

literature

  • Thomas Geissmann: Comparative Primatology . Springer, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9

Web links

Commons : Eastern lowland gorilla  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Geissmann: Comparative Primatology . Springer, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 , p. 295
  2. ↑ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 , p. 620
  3. ↑ J. Hart et al .: Gorilla beringei graueri Status report, PDF
  4. ↑ https://www.gorillas-in-zoos.info/grauer-s-gorillas-in-zoos/