WANTED
Endangered Species
Mountain Gorilla: Gorilla beringei beringei
- They have thick fur which helps them to survive in a habitat where temperatures often drop below freezing. But gradually as humans have moved more into the territories in which the mountain gorillas live in, the gorillas have been pushed farther up into the mountains for longer periods, forcing them to endure dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions.
- Gorillas can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals.
- Mountain gorillas have longer hair and shorter arms than their lowland cousins.
Mountain Gorilla
They are a group of critically endangered species. Since their discovery of the in 1902, the mountain gorilla population has endured years of war, habitat destruction and disease. They continue to face major threats from habitat loss and poaching. These threats are so severe that extinction is thought to be occurring.
Mountain Gorilla’s have a vital function in forest ecology. They help disperse seeds throughout the forests and create places where seedlings can grow and replenish the forest. Their distribution to the forest ecology is vital to the other animals that share their habitat. Humans are also majorly impacted, those who live in and around the forest rely on the regrowth caused by the species to sustain their environments.
Location: Virunga Mountains, Musanze, Northern Province, Rwanda
Mountain Gorillas' Survival: Dian Fossey’s Legacy Lives On
Photo Credit and Video Credit
© Martin Harvey / WWF
© Google Maps 2015
Attenborough, Sir David. "Mountain Gorillas' Survival: Dian Fossey's Legacy Lives On." YouTube. National Geographic, 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2015. <https://youtu.be/CWnk6PTsZNo>.