Do mountain gorillas live with chimpanzees?
Do mountain gorillas live with chimpanzees? : Yes and No! Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are all primates of great interest; thousands of tourists visit Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo all year just to get a glimpse of these primates.
Chimpanzees and mountain gorillas are almost similar in looks and behavior, if you are not so kin you can mistake a chimpanzee for a mountain gorilla and vice versa. These apes both share about 95% of their DNA with humans and actually have lifestyles like humans.
They are both social animals living in groups or families led by a male who is in charge of all the members of the group. They are both herbivores eating leaves, fruits, shrubs and sometimes small insects. They are both intelligent animals and have great handy skills. They both have one off spring at a time and though they can perfectly stand and move on two limbs they move on four.
These primates though very similar they also have difference in appearance and size, the mountain gorillas are larger than the chimpanzees; the gorillas are stronger well as the chimpanzees are known to be more intelligent. The chimpanzees live in larger groups compared to the mountain gorillas. The chimpanzees are more playful and always on the move but the mountain gorillas like to station at a particular place.
Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees both live in rain forests and though it is not common for both animal species to live in the same forest, mountain gorilla and chimpanzees in Virunga National Park are found in the same forest. So with that you could say, mountain gorillas live with chimpanzees.
But don’t be quick to conclude to conclude because mountain gorillas and chimpanzees can be found in the same forest, these animals don’t interact with each other. The mountain gorillas live in the high altitude parts of the forest and the chimpanzees live in the low altitude parts of forests.
So technically mountain gorillas and chimpanzees don’t live together but live in similar habitats.
Both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees can be seen all year round in their habitats in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic of Congo. Mountain gorillas in these countries are found in Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park, Volcanoes National park and Virunga National Park respectively. Chimpanzees on the other hand are found in Virunga National Park in the Democratic republic of Congo, in Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda and in Uganda in Kibale National Park, Budongo forest, Kalinzu forest and Kyambura gorge.
All these places mentioned above offer mountain gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking safaris respectively all throughout the year. Each country’s price for the trekking activities varies but the experiences in the different habitats are usually similar.
All trekking experiences start early with a briefing session at the park offices; during the briefing trekkers are told about the trek, what to expect and the different rules and guidelines of the trek. It’s the briefing that they are also grouped in groups of 8 for mountain gorilla trekking and 12 for chimpanzee trekking. Trekking guides or rangers are also allocated groups to take on the trek at the briefing.
After the briefing the different teams enter the forest in search of the famous primates and when they find them they will spend an hour with them, observing them from a distance of about 7 meters and after that one hour trekkers will then trek back to the park. Usually the parks give the trekkers certificates of trekking as souvenir. These trekking experience can take as short as 4 hours to as long as 9 hours depending on where you are trekking.
