Have you ever wondered what the difference between the mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas is? This information provides a highlight of the difference between the two species of primates. In simple terms as their names suggest, the lowland gorillas live in lowland areas while the highland gorillas live in mountainous areas. But there is more to these two subspecies than just where they live.
There are two species of gorillas that is the Eastern gorillas subdivided into Eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas, the western gorillas subdivided into the cross river gorillas and western lowland gorillas.
In comparing the eastern lowland and mountain gorillas, the latter have thicker fur on their skins. This is due to the fact that they live in areas of higher altitudes/elevations of about 7218to 13,123 feet with low temperatures that drop up to freezing point and making it very cold .The fur regulates their body temperatures allowing them to live in their habitats. The lowland gorillas live in areas of lower elevations ranging between 2297 to 9514 feet
The coats of the mountain gorillas are even blacker than those of the lowland gorillas that have brownish-grey hairs on their skins.
Lowland gorillas are smaller in size compared to the mountain gorillas that are larger in size and considered the largest of all the primates. Also the lowland gorillas can thrive in zoos contrary to the mountain gorillas that cannot survive in captivity. The mountain gorillas are larger than the lowland cousins. The weight of a male mountain gorilla ranges from 135kgs to 220kgs, compared to their lowland counterparts whose weight range between 65kgs and 180kgs.
The mountain gorillas are mainly terrestrial and quadruped and only climb on trees with branches strong to carry their heavy weight while the lowland gorillas are always travelling through trees
In conclusion, though their physical differences are not clearly pronounced, the mountain gorillas are different from the lowland gorillas and these range for their fur, coat color, body size and weight. Also the fact that their habitats vary and being rare and found in only three countries in the whole world, this makes the mountain gorillas more unique than their other gorilla counterparts.
