Mountain Gorilla

A subspecies of the eastern gorilla found only in two isolated, high-altitude populations in the Virunga Massif spanning Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Mountain gorillas live in stable family troops led by a dominant adult male, distinguished by the silver saddle of hair across his back that gives the term silverback its name, and spend most of each day feeding on leaves, stems and shoots rather than fruit, an adaptation to a cooler, higher-altitude forest with less year-round fruit availability than lowland gorilla habitat. Sustained anti-poaching patrols, veterinary care for sick or injured individuals and regulated, closely managed tourism revenue have made the mountain gorilla one of the very few great ape populations definitively increasing rather than declining, a rare conservation success still limited to a small and vulnerable range.