Endangered Mountain Gorilla of Uganda

As ROWAN is in Uganda, we thought it would be helpful for our readers if we shared a bit more about this amazing country. This is an amazingly diverse land with a huge variety of animal & plant life to learn about. Perhaps Uganda’s most famous resident is the critically endangered mountain gorilla.

A male mountain gorilla close up

Uganda’s mountain gorillas.

High Altitude

As the name states, mountain gorillas prefer to inhabit mountainside forests at around 8,000 to 13,000 feet. Critically endangered since 1996, a variety of regeneration programs are in place to raise their numbers in the wild. In fact, Uganda is one of the only places in the world mountain gorillas can be found in the wild. A male mountain gorilla walking through the forest

Uganda’s mountain gorillas.

Mountain Gorilla Facts

Mountain gorillas are vegetarians & their diet is made up of roughly 10 different species of forest plants. Favoring items like thistle, wood & roots, they rarely need to drink water as their diet provides a great deal. This is a very social animal, living in small groups (less than 40) dominated by a male silverback, leader & protector. Generally potential conflicts are resolved through a show of strength or intimidation tactics, but silverbacks have been known to give their life for the safety of his group. Young males are driven away from the group at around 11 years & often travel in packs until they reach sexual maturity.

Learn More

To learn more about this lovely animal, get involved to help them or take a trip to Uganda visit the Uganda Wildlife Authority or the Uganda Wildlife Education Center.

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