The Lowland Gorilla, possibly identified as the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), is a large primate native to Central Africa. It is available for adoption in Zoo Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon DS, and Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile.
Description[]
The Lowland Gorilla is the largest of all gorillas, which in turn are the world's largest primates. A fully-grown dominant male, or "silverback" after the gray coloration on his back and rump, can stand up to 1.85m (5ft 11in) tall and weigh up to 210kg (460lbs). Females are smaller and more lightly built than males. The gorilla is extremely strong and is believed to be capable of lifting ten times its body weight. Silverbacks are known to aggressively defend their groups against rivals and predators such as leopards, but gorillas are typically peaceful animals that spend much of their day eating.
Lowland gorillas live in the rainforests of Central Africa in large family groups called Troops and can be found in mountainous forests as well as lowland forests. They are primarily herbivorous and eat a wide range of plant material, but favour fruit when it is available and will occasionally eat small vertebrates, ants and termites. When not feeding, gorillas will often rest, with individuals grooming and playing together. Like all gorillas, they are classed as Critically Endangered, with less than 4000 left in the wild.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The Lowland Gorilla is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon and is available in the base game. It can only be adopted after researching it. Successfully breeding it will give the zoo a cash grant.
The lowland gorilla is a tropical rainforest animal and also likes some dirt and grass in their exhibit. Its favourite foliage is the Elephant Ear Tree and requires a small amount of elevation to satisfy its habitat need. It also requires a toy, the gorilla climbing bars.
 Animal Facts
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| Gorillas are the largest primates, weighing up to 400 pounds. There are three subspecies of gorillas: the eastern lowland gorilla, the western lowland gorilla, and the mountain gorilla. The eastern lowland gorilla is endangered, with a population of only 3,000 to 8,000 individuals. Although the western lowland gorilla is the most numerous of the subspecies, its survival is still threatened, and only a few hundred mountain gorillas remain. The eastern lowland gorilla is blacker in color than the mountain gorilla and has shorter hair, a longer face, and a broader chest than the western lowland gorilla. In all three subspecies, the male gorillas develop silver backs as they mature.
The eastern lowland gorilla dwells in small pockets of tropical rainforest in the eastern part of the Congo. This gorilla prefers open-canopy forests, which allow some light to reach the forest floor. The remaining natural habitat and food supply of the gorillas are being threatened by the encroachment of domestic grazing animals and deforestation. Gorillas love fruit and will eat large quantities of it when it is available. They will also eat leaves, bark, ants, and bamboo shoots. Gorillas are gentle foragers; when using their powerful arms to strip bark and foliage from plants, they leave enough so that the plants can quickly regenerate. Gorillas rarely drink, as their diet has a high moisture content, but they eat a lot. Adult males will consume about 70 pounds of food daily. In captivity, the gorilla's diet is similar to its diet in the wild. In the wild, eastern lowland gorillas travel in groups of about eleven. A gorilla band consists of a single silverback and a number of females and offspring. Lowland gorillas have an undeserved reputation for being ferocious. In reality, they are gentle creatures who rarely fight among themselves or with other species. If the group is threatened, the silverback leader will respond by roaring and beating his chest. However, this behavior is seldom followed through with an attack. Gorillas show moderate aggression or annoyance by staring with their heads down, eyebrows lowered, and lips pursed. Gorillas generally do not walk upright, except when engaged in threat displays. Instead, they walk on all fours, using the knuckles on their hands. Each hand has four long fingers and an opposable thumb. Lowland gorillas, even the mature males, will climb trees. Although quiet creatures, gorillas can produce a large range of sounds-including purrs, hoots, grunts, grumbles, humming, screams, laughs, growls, chuckles, and barks. Like humans, they rely on their eyes to gather information. Gorillas are the smartest of the great apes. They are capable of learning sign language to communicate words and simple sentences. A female gorilla gives birth to a single offspring every four years. As gorillas tend to be unhappy and sickly in captivity, they reproduce very poorly under these conditions. When the group is on the move, infant gorillas will cling upside-down to the mother's chest, with only occasional support from her. Later, the mother will lift her child onto her back where it can ride. Mutual grooming often occurs between a mother and her child. As they get older, young gorillas enjoy playing among the rocks and trees of their forest habitat. Other than the occasional leopard, the only predator of the gorilla is man. |
Other Games[]
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile[]
The Lowland Gorilla is an adoptable animal in the Java version of Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile. It is the seventh animal the player can unlock in the versions that have it.
The Lowland gorilla is a Tropical Rainforest biome animal and likes grass and dirt in its exhibit, along with the Elephant Ear Tree and Stone Ruin for decoration. It does not like any water or other plants in its exhibit.
When happy, the Lowland gorilla will dance by spinning around with its arms in the air.
Gallery[]
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile[]
Trivia[]
- The lowland gorilla is internally referred to as the "Mountain Gorilla", which would not appear until Zoo Tycoon 2.
- The Lowland Gorilla is the only animal in Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile that uses the Elephant Ear Tree.
- Despite the player being able to adopt multiple lowland gorillas in-game, in real life, only a single eastern lowland gorilla was ever kept in captivity, found in Antwerp Zoo in Belgium.
| Zoo Tycoon DS animals | |
|---|---|
| Standard Animals | African Buffalo • African Elephant • African Lion • African Warthog • American Bighorn Sheep • American Bison • Arctic Wolf • Bengal Tiger • Black Bear • Black Leopard • Black Rhinoceros • California Sea Lion • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Clouded Leopard • Common Wildebeest • Dromedary Camel • Emperor Penguin • Gemsbok • Giant Anteater • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Gray Wolf • Greater Flamingo • Grizzly Bear • Hippopotamus • Ibex • Jaguar • Leopard • Lowland Gorilla • Mandrill • Markhor • Moose • Okapi • Olive Baboon • Ostrich • Plains Zebra • Polar Bear • Red Kangaroo • Saltwater Crocodile • Siberian Tiger • Snow Leopard • Spotted Hyena • Thomson's Gazelle • White Bengal Tiger |
| Unlockable Content | Asian Elephant • Kouprey • Onager • Orangutan • Unicorn |
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile animals | |
|---|---|
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile | African Elephant • Bengal Tiger • Black Rhinoceros • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Lion • Lowland Gorilla |
| Marine Mania Mobile | Bottlenose Dolphin • Giant Pacific Octopus • Great White Shark • Green Sea Turtle • Manta Ray • Orca • Rockhopper Penguin |