This article is generally about lowland gorillas. Gorillas are divided into 2 species; namely, the Eastern gorillas and Western gorillas. The former are further divided each into two subspecies, the Eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) and the Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) for the Eastern Gorillas then the Western Lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Cross River gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli).
Mountain gorillas are the most sought after by travelers to Africa, however there are also the lowland gorillas that can be found in the rainforests and swamps in West and Central African countries.
Western lowland gorillas
These are distributed over a large area of the gorilla subspecies. Western lowland gorillas can be encountered in Central African Republic, Cameroon, D.R. Congo and Equatorial Guinea as well as in The Republic of Congo and Gabon.
They inhabit some of the dense and remote rainforest in Africa and it has made the effort of doing their census and knowing their number in vain for the researchers and environmental protection groups. But, a good number of them exist in the remote swamps in the Republic of Congo. There is an estimate of 10,000-20,000 individuals surviving.
These are of smaller size than their counter parts. This is evident in their brown-grey coats and dark reddish brown hair on their chests. They also have got wider skulls and small ears.
On the other hand, the Grauers gorilla (Eastern Lowland gorillas) is a sub specie of the eastern gorillas and are endemic to the forests of eastern D.R. Congo – south Kivu province. The biggest population of these species dwell in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Eastern DR Congo. However they also can be seen in Maiko National Park, Tayna Gorilla Reserve and Itombwe Massif.
These are larger and have a stocky body and is larger than the other gorilla species despite having almost same diet. The civil unrests in the country have made the numbers of the Eastern gorillas to reduce. Their home in the lowland forests in the D.R. Congo has reduced over time and it is now estimated that they roam in an area that is 13% of their former 8100 sq. mile area and 17,000 individuals were estimated by scientists in the mid 1990s.
In 2016, a head count was made and it was revealed that their population had fell by 77% to an estimate of 3,800 individuals. The government and other organizations work hard to protect these apes and their habitat.
D.R. Congo has got 9 families of these eastern lowland gorillas but only two are open for tourism. These are considered to be critically endangered on the IUCN list of wildlife that require special protection and about 500 individuals are in the 9 groups.
In Kahuzi-Biega National Park alone, these apes roam in a wide range and this requires great efforts to habituate and track these gorillas.
At 400 USD only you are allowed to visit these apes in the park. Start with briefing at the Tshivanga visitors center where a guide will take you through the rules of gorilla tracking and nature of the park. You are then guided in search of the gorillas and for two or more hours walking and 1 hour to spend with these giants. Only 6 people are allowed to visit each group unlike the 8 for mountain gorillas.
You can opt for a combined tour for both mountain gorillas and Eastern lowland gorillas in D.R. Congo. If you are interested in exploring these gorillas, Standard Safaris can help you to book a trip. Please contact us for inquiries about the booking process. With us, you can select from a variety of gorilla safari packages, that include budget, midrange and luxury options. Our experiences to organize the best gorilla safaris is proved by the reviews on Trip Advisor. Check us out to witness our devotion in ensuring that each of our clients gets their safari expectations exceeded.
