http://www.colszoo.org/animalareas/aforest/gorilla.html
Western Lowland Gorilla
The Western Lowland Gorilla or Gorilla gorilla gorilla is located around Congo and Cameroon of Africa.
The Western Lowland Gorilla, from the Kingdom Animalia and Domain Eukarya, resides in dense forest and swamplands of Africa. It is a vertebrate mammal and its habitat is terrestrial. The gorilla prefers very dense forest. This habitat is usually very regulated in temperature (around 23 degrees Celsius) and a regular amount of 12 hour daylight. The Lowland areas, where these Gorillas reside, have dry seasons with many deciduous trees, shrubs and succulents. Our Western Lowland Gorilla is particularly around the equator such as Gabon and Congo. The Eastern Lowland Gorilla inhabits a more tropical forest area of Africa. The Western Lowland Gorilla has a diet of large fruits and mature leaves and stems (Busch). They also consume termites and ants. A huge majority of their diet is seasonal fruit, something that might be altered due to Global Warming. In 1999, the Western Lowland Gorilla was the most numerous gorilla species at 92,000 (Busch). However, due to the increase of deforestation due to the demand of the economy for lumber, the Western Lowland Gorillas are now on the endangered list. Gorillas don’t really show any kind of biological prospective besides their impact on the local economy. Gorilla tracking and attractions add to about 10 percent of the local tourism profit. Global warming could have an affect on these animals. Since these animals exist at very steady temperatures and climate, sudden changes in these factors could alter the life cycle of Gorillas. The cutting down of trees in Africa is the leading cause for the endangerment of Gorillas, just above poaching.
Walsh, P.D., Tutin, C.E.G., Oates, J.F., Baillie, J.E.M., Maisels, F., Stokes, E.J., Gatti, S., Bergl, R.A., Sunderland-Groves, J. & Dunn. A. 2007. Gorilla gorilla. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on 29 September 2007.
Busch Entertainment Corporation. (2005). Gorillas. SeaWorld/Busch Gardens ANIMALS. http://swbg-animals.com/animal-info/info-books/gorilla/habitat-&-distribution.htm (Accessed on September)
