GORILLA'S BLOG

Does gorilla mean gorilla? Three species of Gorillas: Mountain Gorillas (eastern gorillas), as well as Eastern and Western Lowland Gorillas. In the entire central African region the current estimates of the total Western Lowland population are 150.000 to 200.000. Most of these live in Congo. Around 120 of these are on record. They were identified and named by the primate-scientists who set up and manage the Gorilla-Project in Odzala: primate researchers Dr. Magda Bermejo an German Illera.

Only one is the boss. He’s got between six and eight wives – making some men’s hearts skip a beat. But the silverback also carries the huge responsibility of taking care of up to 20 family members. They rely on him, and need his protection. The dominating group leaders are the oldest males with the oldest rights. The silverback is the boss, but no despot. They allow the presence of other, younger males, the blackbacks. These young gorillas strengthen the group in case of an attack.

However, the peace in the family only lasts until the fur on the back of the blackback turns grey. At this point, the blackback has to set off to find his own herd. This is a point in which we differ from our closest relatives, the gorillas. To them, not the young ones mean competition, but the oldies do!

In the national park, too, the gorillas live in groups of around 10-20. 6-8 grown females with their young or babies. The silverback holds the group together and protects his family. The young are extremely interested in the babies of the group. They constantly try to lure them away from their mothers to go on discovery tour, high up in the crown of the trees.

The IUCN, the world wide nature conservation union, has classified the Western Lowland Gorilla as an endangered species. Our closest relatives are in great danger. The worst case scenario is as follows: Within the next three generations 80% of the entire population will disappear. Hence it is all the more important for Odzala to remain a safe place for the animals at home there.

Western lowland gorillas have suffered exceptionally high levels of mortality, caused by hunting and diseases like Ebola. In some remote areas more than 90% of the population died. The considerable decline of the Western lowland gorillas is a sad statistic: more than 60% over the next 20 years. Most protected areas have serious poaching problems and almost half of the habitat under protected status has been hit hard by Ebola. Commercial hunting and Ebola are both continuing - even accelerating - threats that are not yet mitigated. Gorillas are long-lived and their reproductive rates are extremely low which makes particularly susceptible to even low levels of hunting.