Eastern gorilla

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei )

• Eastern Lowland Gorilla ( G. b. Graueri )
• Mountain Gorilla (G. b. Beringei )

Eastern gorillas differ from western gorillas, among other things in its slightly larger dimensions, in a darker fur and the fact that the typical silver staining mostly older males (see silver back) is limited to the back. They also form larger groups.

The Eastern gorilla is divided into at least two sub- types:

• The Eastern Lowland Gorilla ( G. b. Graueri ) inhabits low-lying rain forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The mountain gorilla (G. b. Beringei ) is characterized by a longer coat and lives in the Virunga volcanoes in the border area Democratic Republic of Congo / Rwanda / Uganda and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The animals in this region ( " Bwindigorillas " ) could represent a separate subspecies according to some scientists, it has been but not yet scientifically described.

Mountain Gorillas are the most pronounced bottom dwellers within the gorillas and feed mainly on leaves. In contrast, Eastern Lowland Gorillas are likely to partially feed on fruits. The life of this subspecies is but little research in contrast to the mountain gorillas.

Eastern gorillas are rarer and more threatened than western gorillas and are also hardly kept in zoos. Current estimates of the total population of eastern lowland gorillas amount to 3,000 to 5,000 animals and the mountain gorillas (as of spring 2010) to 790 animals, of which 306 (as of 2006) in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The IUCN lists the species as a whole as endangered ( endangered ) and the mountain gorilla as critically endangered ( critically endangered ).

The Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei ) is one of two species in the genus of the gorillas is shared. It is the larger and rarer of the two species.