Most Gorillas that you might have encountered in a zoo are from the lowlands of western Africa. The endangered Mountain Gorillas of Uganda won’t be found in any zoo in the world and they do not survive in captivity and there are no surviving mountain gorillas in zoos, you can only find them and see them in Africa, in the countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Uganda Mountain Gorillas are found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. In these areas tracking takes place at 5 locations Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo in BINP and Ntebeko in Mgahinga Gorilla national park. The parks are within 48 kilometers of each other.
The Gorillas are actually increasing in numbers due to the protection they are receiving from the Ugandan government which involved the communities surrounding the parks and gives them a portion of the 500 dollar Gorilla tracking fees collected from foreign visitors to Bwindi and Mgahinga.
The fur of the Mountain Gorilla, often thicker and longer than that of other Gorilla species, enables them to live in Gorilla Background. Gorillas can be identified by nose prints unique to each individual. Males usually weigh twice as much as the female.
Adult males have more pronounced bony crests on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical shape. Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced. Like all gorillas they feature dark brown eyes framed by a black ring around the iris. Adult males are called silverbacks because a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their backs with age. Males reach1.9meters in height with an arm span of 2.3 and weigh 220kg.
The hair on their backs is shorter than on most other body parts, and their arm hair is especially long The Mountain Gorilla is primarily terrestrial and quadrupedal. However, it will climb into fruiting trees if the branches can carry its weight, and it is capable of running up to 6 meters. The young ones will play in trees like children. Like all great apes other than humans, its arms are longer than its legs. It moves by knuckle-walking.
The Mountain Gorilla is diurnal, most active between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. with a nap around a lunch time. Many of these hours are spent eating, as large quantities of food are needed to sustain its massive bulk. It forages in early morning, rests during the late morning and around midday, and in the afternoon it forages again before resting at night. Each gorilla builds a nest from surrounding vegetation to sleep in, constructing a new one every evening. Only infants sleep in the same nest as their mothers. They leave their sleeping sites when the sun rises at around 6 am, except when it is cold and overcast; then they often stay longer in their nests.
Females become sexually mature at 7-8 years old, but do not start to breed until several years later. Males mature later than females, with few breeding before the age of 15 years.
Female general give birth to only three or four surviving young during their reproductive life. The mortality rate for gorillas less than one year old is high, but for adults the rate is only 5%.In the wild,
they live 40 to 50 years old. An interesting factoid is that Gorillas and Humans are 98% genetically identical. They move daily to a different location to spend the night making nests from twigs and leaves. Some human have found them quite comfortable, even enough to fall asleep .