Cross River Gorilla
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Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae

[Photo] Cross River gorilla, Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon. Photo taken by Arend de Haas, African Conservation Foundation (www.africanconservation.org/). Date: 22 November 2007. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cross_river_gorilla.jpg

The Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is a subspecies of the Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) that can be found on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, in both tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. In contrast to the more common (but also Critically Endangered, due to Ebola virus and other factors) Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) the Cross River Gorilla is the most endangered of all the gorillas, and is the most endangered primate.

The Cross River Gorilla differs from the Western Lowland Gorilla in both skull and tooth dimensions.

Estimates on the number of Cross River Gorillas remaining vary, with around 250 to 300 believed to be remaining in the wild, in 9 to 11 populations that are isolated by farmlands. The nearest population of Western Lowland Gorilla is some 250 km away. Both loss of habitat and the increased popularity of bushmeat have contributed heavily to the decline of this subspecies.

Intelligent Characteristics

A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Primatology, announced the discovery of the fighting back against possible threats from humans. They "found several instances of gorillas throwing sticks and clumps of grass." This is unusual, because gorillas usually flee and rarely charge when encountered by humans.

In 2005, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society observed the gorillas, and documented the first case of tool use among gorillas. Researchers discovered individual gorillas using sticks to check the depth of streams before crossing them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_River_Gorilla

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