Deep in the Jungles of Africa...


Map of Western Equatorial Africa with political boundaries       




        Western Gorillas, as expected from their common name, are found in western Africa near the equator. Patches of the species are scattered through areas of Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Angola, and extreme western portions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overall, Gorilla gorilla populations inhabit an area of approximately 273,750 square miles. However, the Cross River subspecies is found only in a small, isolated area in western Cameroon and south-eastern Nigeria, covering a mere 290 square miles. 3

       




Kazimierz Nowak in a dense, African jungle in the 1930s       The Western Gorilla's habitat consists mainly of dense, tropical and subtropical forested areas. Broadleaf tree species comprise most of the large vegetation, and a thick understory and layer of undergrowth provide a lush environment to house and nourish the gorillas. 15 Learn more about the western gorilla's eating habits here.

        This image of a man standing in an African forest, illustrates just how dense the undergrowth in these areas can be! Because of these nearly impenetrable conditions, observation of Western Gorillas in the wild has been quite limited in the past, compared to studies of their more rare eastern counterparts.14,18


A satellite image of Africa        Such west-African forests generally have high humidity and considerable rainfall each year, with one drier season. The Western Lowland subspecies inhabits lowland and swamp forests from sea-level to an elevation of about 5250 feet, while Cross River Gorillas occupy forested lowlands and the foothills of mountains. 3 From this satellite image, the lush, forested areas of Africa are clearly visible.

        These thick forests are home to an amazing array of other species as well, including thousands of varieties of plants, fungi, and insects. The range of the Western Gorilla also overlaps with that of a few other species of "megafauna:" notably, the chimpanzee, the African elephant, and the leopard. However, the gorillas have rarely been known to interact with these animals, aside from very occasional predation of infant gorillas by adult leopards. 3,14 Learn more about Western Gorilla behavior here.


A logging truck loaded with logs, in Africa        Unfortunately, these amazing ecosystems are disappearing at an alarming rate,due to deforestation to produce timber and farmland. Throughout the Western Gorilla's range, logging increased by more than 100% from 1991 to 2000! 9 Additionally, climate change due to global warming has led to decreasing annual rainfall in these areas over recent decades, meaning there could potentially be an increase in forest fires.9 Learn more about threats to the Western Gorilla and its fertile home and what you can do to help here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question or Comments? Feel free to contact me at wussow.arik@students.uwlax.edu.       

Site designed by Arika Wussow, Last updated April 2008.

MultipleOrganisms.net          University of Wisconsin-La Crosse