#Avg silverback weight full

#Avg silverback weight full

A full grown male gorilla weighs from 136 to 195 kg (300 to 430 pounds).

While in 1997, Smith and Jungers calculated the average weight of 19 adult male gorillas in the wild as 169 kg.

In 1970, Grove calculated the average weight of 47 adult male gorillas in the wild as 143 kg.

The weight of an adult male gorilla ranges from 300 to 430 pounds, while that of a female gorilla from 150 to 250 pounds.

As Liz Williamson, great apes coordinator for the IUCN told the Guardian at the time, “Our study has revealed that it is not too late to secure a future for gorillas. In 2018, researchers surveying the gorilla’s range made an uplifting announcement: Their study found 361,900 western lowland gorillas-a third more than previously had been estimated. Conservation groups aim to change that by working with local and national authorities to strengthen penalties for poaching and improve land-use planning to better protect the gorilla’s habitat. Though western lowland gorillas are protected by national and international laws, historically enforcement has been weak. Experts believe that the Ebola virus may have killed as much as a third of western lowland gorillas in the early 2000s. Gorilla populations have also been ravaged by infectious diseases. Climate change further threatens their habitat as warming temperatures dry out the region, making it more vulnerable to fire and forest retreat. Nearly 80 percent of western lowland gorillas live in unprotected areas that are vulnerable to poaching.įarming, grazing, and expanding human settlements are shrinking the western lowland gorilla's space. While western lowland gorillas are one of the more populous gorilla subspecies, they face a number of threats that have led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify them as critically endangered.įorest loss is a twofold threat: It destroys gorilla habitat, and it clears the way for people who hunt gorillas for bushmeat. Young gorillas, from three to six years old, spend much of their day at play, climbing trees, chasing one another, and swinging from branches. These infants ride on their mothers’ backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny-weighing about four pounds-and are capable of doing no more than clinging to their mothers' fur. Reproductionįemale gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. In captivity, gorillas have displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language. Though they’re normally quiet animals, western lowland gorillas have an extensive array of vocalizations-at least 22 different hoots, barks, and screams, each with its own meaning. Despite these displays and the animals’ obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and nonaggressive unless they are disturbed. When challenged by another male, a troop leader will demonstrate his strength by standing upright, throwing things, making aggressive charges, and pounding his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a roar. Though gorillas can stand upright, they prefer traveling on all fours, pushing themselves forward with their knuckles and soles of their feet. The leader organizes troop activities, such as eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group's home range. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.

Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur.

Gorillas can climb trees, but they’re usually found on the ground in communities-known as troops-of up to 30 individuals. They eat roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp. These gorillas live in thick tropical rainforests, where they find plenty of food for their vegetarian diet. Habitat and dietĪs the most widespread gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla can be found across more than 270,000 square miles of central and West Africa-including Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, and the Republic of the Congo. Like their cousins, western lowland gorillas are endangered and face the loss of their habitat. Infants have a tuft of white hair on their backsides, and older gorillas may get streaks of silver in their hair. Western lowland gorillas have shorter black-brown hair, longer arms, and a more prominent ridge along their brow. Western lowland gorillas are the smallest of the four gorilla subspecies, which also include the Cross River gorillas, Grauer’s gorillas, and mountain gorillas. Current Population Trend: Decreasing What is the western lowland gorilla?