🦍 Happy World Gorilla Day 2023! 🦍

 

Today, we celebrate these incredible creatures and raise awareness about the importance of gorilla conservation. In this post, I will be sharing some fascinating things about gorillas and how you can conserve them.

The closest specie to humans after Chimpanzees and Baboons is the Gorilla. They have about 98.3% genetic composition of man, and so they also menstruate, cry, love, and are emotional. They have hands and legs and can pose like humans.

Do you know there are four species of gorillas? 🤔

1️⃣ Western Gorilla: are characterized by their slightly smaller body size, their brown-grey coats and auburn chests. They also have wider skulls with more pronounced brow ridges and smaller ears. They are large in numbers but they are still endangered. This species is the most widely affected species by the Ebola virus. Scientists believed that over 33% of this population were lost to Ebola Virus

2️⃣ Eastern Gorilla: These are found in the Eastern part of Africa, especially the Congo basin. There are two different types in this category. We have the Upland and Lowland Eastern Gorilla. Both are the biggest of the 4 Categories of Gorilla species.

3️⃣ Cross River Gorilla: They are relatively smaller in size when compared to Eastern and Western Gorillas. They are found to share boundaries between Nigeria and Cameroon. These species are so close to man that there was an incident of a man who was accompanied home by Gorilla. WCS is doing great in helping to secure lands to conserve these wildlife species.

4️⃣ Mountain Gorilla: They live in forests with high mountain ranges between 8,000 to 13,000 feet. Their fur is thicker than the other species, which helps them to survive in habitats that are cooler and colder.

Each has unique characteristics and faces specific conservation challenges.

They give birth once every 3 to 4 years to a baby. This is a unique challenge facing their population

The highest number of birth period recorded in most Gorilla is 4 birth time

Gorillas are primarily found in lush rainforests and montane forests across Africa. 🌳🦍Their habitats are under threat from deforestation and habitat fragmentation due to human activities. The more we develop industrially and Economically, the threatened the become

They also face disease outbreaks. Most Medicinal plants and trees have been cut down, therefore making them to have little or no access to natural treatment that nature provides

We must take action to protect these gentle giants and their homes.

There's hope! 🌟 Many organizations and individuals work tirelessly to conserve gorilla populations. You can also take a broad step towards conserving them through one of the suggested actions below

• Raise awareness on your social handles on the need to conserve these species
• Provide Education materials to train kids on these fascinating creatures
• Acquire lands to protect wildlife and embark on smart Agricultural practice to save the remaining forest ecosystem
• Be a volunteer to organizations that protects gorilla and other wildlife
• Fund and Promote initiatives or project that conserves environment, wildlife and forest

🌍 On this World Gorilla Day, let's unite to protect these magnificent creatures. Your support can make a difference!

Together, we can ensure a brighter future for gorillas. 🦍💚

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