How Gorillas Adapt to the Environment – There are more than 1000 mountain gorillas left in the wilderness, with half of them dwelling in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas live in small groups of 5 to 30 individuals, with each group having a dominant silverback as a leader. For more information on their habitat, check out Mountain Gorilla Habitat.
These apes share 98% of their DNA with humans, making them humans’ closest relatives. Just like humans, mountain gorillas can cry, laugh, and play, and they also have unique nose prints that are specific to each individual, similar to human fingerprints.
Mountain gorillas thrive in the rain-forests of East and Central Africa, particularly in the Virunga Mountain area stretching across three countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The area is made up of eight volcanoes that host the national parks home to the mountain gorillas, namely Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and Virunga National Park.
Explore more about these Mountain Gorilla Locations and Countries.
During the early 1800s, mountain gorillas were thought to be extinct. However, the American primatologist Dian Fossey dedicated her life to studying and saving gorillas.
Her efforts to safeguard gorillas from poachers led to her brutal death in her cabin in the Virunga Mountains in 1985. Ever since then, numerous conservation and research efforts have been put in place for the well-being of gorillas.
Among the studies made, there are also studies on gorilla adaptations to naturalistic environments, behavioral adaptations, adaptations for survival, adaptations in tropical rain-forests, physical adaptations, structural adaptations, and sensory adaptations, to mention but a few.
How Gorillas Adapt to the Environment
Below are the factors that help mountain gorillas adapt to living in the rain-forested mountainous areas.
Mountain gorillas have thick and long fur that helps them adapt to the cold temperatures in the thick rain-forests where they thrive. This fur further protects them from insect bites and also protects them against diseases like flu and pneumonia.
Being herbivores, they feed on vegetation and fruits in the rain-forest, and they have adapted to living in these rain-forests because they don’t have to spend their energy chasing prey for food.
They have fingers with the thumb being the biggest, which helps them in breaking shells off fruits.
They scream or hoot and stomp their feet when they sense danger, and they use their strong arms to fight their predators. The dominant silverback fights to protect his group even if it costs his own life.
Gorillas have flat teeth that help them chew and grind cellulose in their vegetation diet with ease. Their colons contain bacteria that help break down food to a digestible form by the large intestines.
Gorillas have strong arms that they always use for locomotion, and the large muscles in their arms also play a big role in gathering foliage in their movements.
Since gorillas love being secretive, they can easily sense or detect danger, and in this case, they move away to prevent more problems, but the brave ones will confront the threat.
Through the use of body language and vocalization, gorillas have adapted to socialization. These gentle giants have expressive faces that help them convey emotions, needs, and desires to other group members.
Gorillas have also adapted to the environment by living in well-organized groups or families that are led by the dominant silverback, and hence they are not easily attacked by predators.
The silverback dedicates the daily activities like waking up, feeding, and sleeping time, and he has all the right to mate with all the females in the group.
In conclusion, gorillas are able to adapt to their environment because of the above factors, such as having thick and long fur, having strong arms, and having flat teeth, to mention but a few.
Mountain gorillas can only survive in the wild, and once in captivity, they tend to get weak or sick and pass on.
