Cross River Gorilla:
Deep within the Nigeria-Cameroon border’s misty mountains, the critically endangered Cross River gorilla struggles for survival, with fewer than 300 individuals remaining.
- Cross River Gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla.
- Scientific Name: Gorilla gorilla diehli
- With fewer than 300 individuals estimated to exist in the wild, it is the most endangered of the gorilla subspecies.
- They are the most endangered primate in Africa.
- Cross River gorillas are scattered in at least 11 groups across the rugged, hilly terrain that straddles the Nigeria-Cameroon border on the African continent, known as the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko Coast Forest ecoregion.
- These gorillas have brownish-grey or black fur. However, the face, hands, and feet have no fur at all.
- They have cone-shaped heads, above which rests a reddish crest.
- Adult males sport a silvery swath of hair down the center of their backs, a notable feature they share with all adult male gorillas, earning them the descriptive nickname “silverback.”
- These gorillas are very social and usually live in groups of 2 to 20.
- They are herbivores and usually feed on branches, nuts, leaves, and berries that they hunt for from different plants.
- Conservation Status: IUCN Red List: ‘Critically Endangered’.
