The Eastern Lowland Gorilla

The eastern lowland gorilla or Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) is a subspecies of eastern gorilla.

Population: Eastern lowland gorillas are critically endangered. There are far fewer eastern lowland gorillas compared to western lowland gorillas. According to a 2004 report there were only about 5,000 eastern lowland gorillas in the wild, down to fewer than 3,800 in 2016, compared to over 100,000 western lowland gorillas. Outside their native range, only one female eastern lowland gorilla lives in captivity, at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium. The primary cause of the decline in eastern lowland gorilla populations is poaching for meat, known as bushmeat.

Location: Eastern lowland gorillas live in mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of this gorilla live in the Kahuzi-Biega and Maiko National Parks and their adjacent forests, the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, the Usala forest and on the Itombwe Massif.

Appearance: Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest subspecies of gorilla and the largest living primates. Males have an average weight of 210 kilograms (460 lb), females of 100 kilograms (220 lb). The maximum standing height for males is 1.85 metres (6.1 ft), while females reach 1.6 metres (5.2 ft). An older weight calculated based on eight wild adult males is 169 kg. It is distinguished from other gorillas by its stocky body, large hands and short muzzle.

Habitat: Gorillas spend long hours feeding on plant matter every day. Groups are stable apes as they stay together for months and years at a time, much like the structure of a family. Groups of eastern lowland gorillas are usually larger than those of western gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla has the widest altitudinal range of any of the gorilla subspecies, being found in mountainous, transitional and lowland tropical forests. One of the most studied eastern lowland gorilla population lives in the highlands of Kahuzi-Biega, where habitats vary between dense primary forests to moderately moist woodland, to Cyperus swamp and peat bog.

Diet: Eastern lowland gorilla has a varied plants diet including fruits, leaves, stems and bark as well as small insects such as ants and termites. Although they occasionally eat ants, insects form only a minor part of their diet. In comparison to western lowland gorillas, found in low altitude tropical forests.