Gorillas in zoos

September 15, 2009 7:53 AM

Does anyone know why there seems to only be western lowland gorilla at zoos?

Does anyone know why there seems to only be western lowland gorilla at zoos? I assume its because they are less endangered than other gorillas. I am just curious if anyone knows the actual answer and if there are any zoos with other subspecies/species of gorillas in the US and Canada.

posted by ChloeMills to Pets & Animals (8 answers total)

Best answer: I think your answer may be from here:

"There are three sub-species of gorillas:

1. Western Lowland Gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). These are the kinds you see in zoos today. They are the smallest of the sub-species with short blackish hair (sometimes reddish brown on the head) and live mainly in forested areas of the Central African Republic, the Congo, Cameroon and Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
2. Eastern Lowland Gorillas (gorilla gorilla graueri). There are currently 4 Eastern Lowland gorillas in captivity; three at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, and one in Houston, TX. The have a narrower face and broader chest than the western lowland gorillas and shorter hair like their western cousins, but they are slightly larger. They live mostly in eastern Zaire.
3. Mountain Gorillas (gorilla gorilla beringei). There are NO mountain gorillas in captivity today. These are the largest, gorillas with the longest hair (to keep them warm in their cooler mountainous habitat!). These are also the rarest gorillas, which Dian Fossey and many other scientists studied in Rwanda; they also live in Uganda and eastern Zaire.

It seems that they are the most common in zoos because they are the most common, logically enough.
posted by Brockles at 8:01 AM on September 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Western lowland gorillas are "critically endangered" whereas eastern lowland and mountain gorillas are merely "endangered."
posted by grouse at 8:01 AM on September 15, 2009

Found, incidentally, from the third link from googling Gorillas in captivity.
posted by Brockles at 8:02 AM on September 15, 2009

I am pretty sure there are low mountain gorillas at the Fort Worth zoo, but I can't seem to confirm it anywhere online.
posted by soelo at 8:09 AM on September 15, 2009

The bulk of Western gorilla species live outside protected areas, which isn't true for the others. Many zoos get their animals from trade or seizures of illegally traded wildlife. My theory is that people take gorillas from unprotected areas, try to sell/trade them or keep them as pets (this is pretty common), and eventually they're seized and a zoo is in line to get it.
posted by booknerd at 8:13 AM on September 15, 2009

I don't think mountain gorillas can survive, much less breed, in captivity. I'm almost 100% sure there are no mountain gorillas living in zoos.

The lowland gorillas are much more common and adaptable to zoo environments.
posted by MorningPerson at 8:15 AM on September 15, 2009

Response by poster: Found, incidentally, from the third link from googling Gorillas in captivity.

Ahh Thank you. I don't think I was 'googling' the right phrases.
posted by ChloeMills at 8:23 AM on September 15, 2009

Yeah, there are no mountain gorillas in zoos. Captive population statistics can be found through isis.org. (International Species Information System)
posted by booknerd at 8:28 AM on September 15, 2009