A gorilla's habitat and diet
All gorillas are vegetarian except that occasionally they eat ants or termites when they
come across a nest or mound in the forest. The very different habitats of the Mountain gorilla
and Western gorilla result in differences in their physical appearance, feeding behaviour and diet.
The Mountain gorillas living among the peaks of the Virunga Volcanoes where the vegetation is poor
quality, predominantly herbs such as nettles, thistles and celery and vines, with few big trees
and almost no fruit, eat the leaves, stems, roots and pith of these plants. They are known as
folivores. Also, between June and November, bamboo shoots can make up 90% of the Mountain
gorilla's diet. This diet influences the movement of Mountain gorillas which usually only travel
about half a kilometre each day, as they are surrounded by their food on the forest floor.
Gorillas living in lowland tropical forests where a large diversity of trees and dozens of
types of fruit exist have a much richer diet. Western lowland gorillas eat large quantities of
fruit and are known as frugivores. These gorillas are agile climbers to allow them to reach the
fruit, and so Western gorillas are lighter-bodied with longer, slender limbs than Mountain
gorillas. They travel between one and four kilometres each day moving from one fruit tree to
another searching for food which partly explains why Western gorillas are more difficult
to track and study.
The gorilla rarely drinks, getting most of the water it needs from its diet, together with
morning dew on the leaves. When it does drink, a gorilla soaks the fur on the back of its hand
and sucks the water from it. |
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