Where Do Gorillas Live? Where Do Gorillas Live in the World?

4 Days Uganda Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

Although some of the western lowland gorillas were transferred to zoos outside Africa, their origins and roots remain in their natural habitats found only in the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Africa.

Researchers believe that at one moment, the western and eastern gorillas lived as neighbors but after the 6000 years of the Ice Age, their habitats were separated by a savanna strip and they are now about 900km apart. Today they defer greatly in their physical characteristics and their genetic composition; the lowland gorillas are smaller than the eastern mountain gorillas.The lowland gorillas of West Africa reside in the vast tropical and subtropical forests which are at a lower altitude while the mountain gorillas survive at an incredibly high altitude; a reason for their name.

Both subspecies depend on the forests for shelter and food and spend most of their lives on the ground than in the trees like most of the other primate species. Minus poaching, destroying their habitat is one of the greatest threats to their survival.

The lowland mountain gorillas can be observed widely and form the largest population of all gorillas. The mountain gorillas on the other hand are only a few and they can only be found in three (3) countries in the world; Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo; in the cloud mountains of the Albertine Rift and in the Virunga Volcanoes.