1. We share 98% of our DNA with Gorillas. This means that they are easily exposed to human illnesses like colds
2. They are one of the biggest and most powerful living primates. An average mountain gorilla weighs up to 180kg
3. They can eat all day long. Mountain gorillas spend about a quarter of their day eating mainly plants. 85% of their diet is made of leaves, shoots, and stems but they also eat snails, larvae, ants, and rotting wood
4. They live in family groups. They live in stable family groups of 10 individuals per group with one dominant male and several females
5. They cozy up at night. They sleep together in the nests on the ground or in the tree they make from foliage. Infants share their mother nests staying safe and warm
6. They have 16 different types of calls for example short barks when they are mildly alarmed or curious to intimidate rivals, male gorillas strut with stiff legs, beat their chests, and use vocalizations like roars and hoots.
7. In the wild, gorillas can live up to 40 years old. They are classed as infants from the ages of three and a half years old and adults from around 8 years. Males from 8-12 are called blackbacks. From 12, they develop a silver section of hair on their back and hips earning them the name Silverback
8. They live in two isolated groups. One group in the Virunga region made up of three National Parks from Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the other is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which connects to Sarambwe Nature Reserve in DRC.
9. Mountain gorillas are estimated to be about 1,063 out there in the wild based on the last census
10. Mountain gorillas are very gentle. They are one of the gentlest and peaceful creatures you can ever encounter. They live in calm and organized groups and rarely attack unless threatened
