Western Gorilla 

Description of habitat

How much rainfall: rain precipitation can surpass 2,000 millimeters/ 79 inches.

Plants: abundant shoots, roots, wild celery, fruits, pulp, and tree bark.

Animals: forest elephant, various monkey species such as colobus monekys and guenons, leopards, duikers, birds, reptiles and amphibians species like snakes, lizards, frogs, and toads. Insects like termites, ants and other invertebrates.

Temperature: 20-30 degrees celsius/ 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit

Terrain: rainforest, swamp forest, brush, secondary vegetation, clearing and forest edges, abandoned farming fields and riverine forest.

Distribution

Continents found: Across Congo Basin, Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo.

Invasive at all: Western gorillas are not invasive. 

Diet

What does it eat: Primarily herbivorous, eating the leaves and stems of herbs, shrubs and vines. They also eat the fleshy fruits of close to a hundred seasonally fruiting tree species.

How often does it eat: Adult male gorillas eat about 45 pounds of food per day. Females eat about two-thirds of that amount. They eat daily

How it gets its food: They use their agile lips and hand dexterity to manipulate the vegetation for the particular portion they want to consume. Gorillas are very selective foragers.

Special foods: have an appetite for termites and ants, and break open termite nests to eat the larvae.

Social Structure

In pack or solo: in pack, small group of around 5 individuals

Roles within community: The silverback male a mature male, his role is to protect, mediate conflict, and breed with the females to pass on his genetics.

male or female leading group: Silverback male gorilla leads the group

Individuals that make the group: Silverback male and several adult females and their infant and juvenile offspring.

How they interact with each other: Gorillas communicate using auditory signals, visual signals and odors. They may also scream, bark and roar. Scientists have heard up to 22 different gorilla vocalizations, each seeming to have its own meaning.

Reproduction 

How often do they mate: Male gorillas mate with multiple females and may have offspring relatively frequently. Female gorillas typically only mate once every four years.

How many mates do they have: however many females in the group

Time of year for mating: year round

Mating Rituals: Mating takes place while both gorillas are on the ground, with the female appearing to kneel on the ground and the male on top throughout the copulation.

Number of offspring produced at one time: 1, twins are rare

Unique characteristics of mating: The dominant silverback mates with all females in the group as soon as they begin ovulation. 

Development

stages of development: infant 0-3 years, weaning 3 years plus, juvenile 3-6 years, young adult 6-8 years, mature adult female 8-10 years, Blackbacks / adult males (8-11 years) Silvering of hair begins around age 10, 18 years to reach full maturity. Young silverbacks (12-15 years) and Silverbacks 15 plus.

How old before sexual maturity: Males Complete copulation by age 9-10 years but few mating opportunities until Silverback status ~ 12-15. Females After 2 years of adolescent sterility, first birth - 8.5-10 years.

activities and enviroment of stages: They usually begin playing, smiling, and bouncing at 8 weeks. At about 9 weeks they begin crawling. Exploration of their environment and object manipulation begins around 3 months of age. They are able to stand at 20 weeks and at 34 weeks they are usually walking and traveling short distances from their mothers.

difference between males and females: Males and females look very similar during their juvenile (3-6) and adolescent (6-8) years. However, when males mature into their blackblack period, they are taller and begin developing adult male characteristics. The silvering of hair on the back begins at around 13 years of age.