So, I am back from holidays and probably need another vacation to recover from the excitement over the last two weeks. Thanks to everyone who continued to read and comment on Wild Facts while I was off.  Your dedication and support is greatly appreciated.

Now that everything is back to normal, lets get onto Wild Fact #880 which will be about one of my favourite animals. The Mountain Gorilla is a large animal that can weigh between 100 to 200 kg (220-440 lbs). Believe it or not the gorilla is thought to be very intelligent, which has often been compared to dolphins and humans. Surprisingly the mountain gorilla is actually a calm, gentle, social and peaceful creature.  They are mainly vegetarians and if you were to watch their young you would think you were watching your kids play in the backyard.  There is a huge misconception of the gorilla standing tall and pounding his chest while roaring into the darkness of the forest.  The leader of the group, which is often a mature, strong male called a silverback, will portray this image while protecting their group.  As well, they will display this behaviour if they get excited but this reputation does not define all mountain gorillas. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t recommend going up and trying to pet a wild gorilla.  I am just saying that they are actually a very peaceful, social animal that needs to be respected and admired.

Unfortunately some people admire them too much and continue to poach them since they consider the silverback to be a trophy. Then there are the people that don’t care and simply destroy their habitat. For these reasons the mountain gorilla is considered to be endangered with only 600 to 800 of them remaining in the wild. The good news is that in 1991 a coalition called the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) was formed which assists in protecting these gorillas as well as their ever important habitat. It is believed that the population of gorillas is steady and may even be on the rise but as usual there is a constant battle between humans and animals. If you would like to help these majestic animals than I suggest checking out the following website:

http://www.awf.org/content/action/detail/4109

Well folks, it feels great to be back and writing some more Wild Facts.  I look forward to talking with you all tomorrow.

Have a great day!