Bwindi gorilla
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The Bwindi gorilla, a population of the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), is found in the rain forests of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and comprises about half the world's endangered population of about 600 Mountain Gorillas. The nearby Virunga Volcanoes Conservation Area, inhabited by the remaining 300 Mountain Gorillas but where no chimpanzees live, makes Bwindi the only forest in Africa in which these two great apes occur together.
Research
Gorilla research in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has lagged far behind that in the Virunga Volcanoes. Preliminary field research results have been reported by researcher Craig B. Stanford.
Diet
Dr. Stanford has found that the Bwindi gorilla diet is markedly higher in fruit than that of the Virunga population, and that the Bwindi gorillas, even silverbacks, are more likely to climb trees to feed on foliage, fruits, and epiphytes. In some months, Bwindi gorilla diet is very similar to that of Bwindi chimpanzees.
Bwindi gorillas travel further per day than Virunga gorillas, particularly on days when feeding primarily on fruit than when they are feeding on fibrous foods.
Nests
Bwindi gorillas are much more likely to build their nests in trees, nearly always in Echizogwa, a small understory tree.
External links
- [BergGorilla.org] - 'Variability in the Diet of Bwindi Gorillas', Gorilla Journal (December, 2004)
- [USC.edu] - 'The Bwindi-Impenetrable Great Ape Project'
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