Primate Report Gorilla

Primate Report Gorilla

  • Submitted By: jsidhu22
  • Date Submitted: 05/27/2010 11:53 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 1323
  • Page: 6
  • Views: 337

Primate Report
Gorilla: Gorilla
There are a lot of primates but only one is the largest and most powerful from them all and that would have to be the Gorilla. Now the scientific name for the gorilla is “Gorilla” and the Genus is also “Gorilla” as well as the name of species, which would be “Gorilla.” The class the gorilla falls under is Mammalia, hence the gorilla being a mammal and family it’s from is the Hominidae and as for the order comes, it’s “Primate.” The Gorilla has four subspecies which are beringei, graueri, gorilla, and diehli; beringei meaning mountain, graueri meaning eastern lowland, gorilla meaning western lowland, and diehli meaning cross river.
Now each type of subspecies for the gorilla lives in a different habitat. The mountain gorillas live in mountain areas at the highest elevations, usually 2200 to 4000 meters up where they have two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. The western and eastern gorillas live in two very different habitats. The eastern gorillas live in highland and lowland forest areas whereas the western gorillas live in swamp, montane forests. As the cross river gorilla, they also live in submontane forest areas 150 to 1600 meters in elevation.
Gorillas are normally herbivores where as they eat herbs, shrubs, leaves and stems, vines, and in some areas where farming is in process they will occasionally trample through crops that are being grown for food. Gorillas will also occasionally eat small animals and rotten wood if it’s available. These are the primary foods when available but subspecies are limited to certain resources depending on the area in which they stay. For instance, the western lowland gorillas have a lot of fruit available to them so they feast on fruit and plant stems for protein. When it comes to mountain gorillas the fruit isn’t as available as it is in the lowland areas, so they would eat more herbs and shrubs, rotten wood, or small animals that they find. The male gorillas eat approximately 45...

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