The Great Apes

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(02-15-2020, 08:31 PM)The Panther Wrote:

(02-14-2020, 10:05 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote:

(02-14-2020, 09:41 PM)The Panther Wrote:

(02-14-2020, 05:40 PM)johnny rex Wrote:

(02-14-2020, 05:25 PM)The Panther Wrote: Silverback mountain gorilla in the chilly misty forest.

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This is an Ugandan subspecies, right?

It's a Virunga male, from the DRC and Rwanda type. They tend to have thicker fur than their Bwindi cousins, due to colder temperatures at even higher altitudes. They also tend to have thick fur on their eyebrows, which Bwindi mountain gorillas seem to lack on average. Virunga mountain gorillas are typically around 8500 to 10000 ft in altitude, but they've been known to roam the very cold and frosty alpine tundras at 13000 to 14000 ft. It can also snow at anytime of the year in the alpine tundra, so it's pretty harsh up there. Bwindi gorillas tend to be around 6000 ft and probably max at around 8000 ft. So that explains why Virunga gorillas are even shaggier than their close relatives in Bwindi Uganda.

This one is in the open grassland, where lions would be present: 

Credit: Innocent Mburanumwe

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Static Panoramio: 

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Actually, that mountain gorilla is near a human settlement, which is close to his forest home, so it's not in a wild open grassland. Virunga Mountain gorillas live exclusively in the high Virunga mountains at 8500 ft to 14000 ft, where lions have never lived. Though lions do live within the Virunga National Park, they're still far away from gorillas and live in the warm savanna at low altitudes, not the high mountains where it's mostly cold, damp forests and alpine tundra.

I do find it interesting how lions would look in mountain gorilla climate. They would likely have thick fur and huge manes due to adaptation to a colder environment, especially a cold and wet environment like this.

It can be seen in zoos, which are located in northern countries. They tend to have, just like you think, big manes.

This was Mohan in Korkeasaari zoo, Asiatic lion, trying to find one looking like him in India might be challenging....

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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