Fossey created The Digit Fund (now The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International), which continues to this day to raise funds and awareness for the protection of the mountain gorillas. When her most beloved gorilla, Digit, became another victim to poaching, Dr. Her famous book, Gorillas in the Mist, was later made into a movie, further bringing the plight of this incredible animal to light. During this time, she was featured in National Geographic. First studied by primatologist George Schaller, they gained international recognition through Dian Fossey’s 18 years of field work in Rwanda. Mountain gorillas are perhaps the most well-known subspecies of gorilla. To help clear the confusion, this will be a discussion of the two Eastern gorilla subspecies (mountain gorilla and eastern lowland/Grauer gorilla) and the two Western gorilla subspecies (western lowland gorilla and cross river gorilla). While a lot of variety is seen amongst gorilla types, the biggest factor in determining the threats to a subspecies is the human activity surrounding them. However, seeing multi-male mountain gorilla groups is not uncommon. Some gorillas have a very strict polygamous society, meaning one adult male, multiple adult females and their offspring. Other gorillas subspecies enjoy seasonal fruits, while gorillas in the west additionally eat ants and termites, making them omnivores. For example, mountain gorillas are found at high altitudes in what is essentially a large leafy green salad bowl, making them folivores or leaf eaters. The dietary habits of gorillas are as diverse as their subspecies.
Their calm expression, gentle nature and impressive physique make them captivating and memorable.
Gorillas are the largest primate, with males of some subspecies reaching over 600 pounds. And, while we celebrate the good news, unfortunately, the other three subspecies are still considered critically endangered and each faces a slightly different collection of challenges. However, mountain gorillas are just one of four subspecies of gorilla. While the species is not out of the woods yet, conservation efforts for the mountain gorilla are clearly getting something right, as this is the only great ape species with population numbers on the rise. Due to this exciting trend, their subspecies was moved from critically endangered, one step away from extinct, to simply endangered. We learned that the mountain gorilla population continues to rise, reaching a record high of 1,063 individuals.
At the end of 2019, primate lovers rejoiced at the results of the mountain gorilla census that spanned their native range of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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