The Africa i see and know
The Africa i see and know
Africa has for a long time been described as the dark continent. I must say that with the recent hosting of the world cup 2010 in South Africa, there's been a slight change in the perceptions of many, never the less the deeply ingrained thoughts and opinions about Africa still linger heavily in the minds of many as dark, poor and diseased.
The reason i write this article is to help enlighten some who may read it about the real Africa that many may never hear about or never even imagine can be.
Being a lover of nature, i will by default start by mentioning some of the outstanding features about the continent of Africa but more specifically "The pearl of Africa" - Uganda.
Uganda is home to more than 60% of the famous and only remaining mountain gorillas on the face of the earth. These cousins of man as they are commonly refered to dwell in the highlands of western Uganda in misty highlands, They have been commonly refered to as 'gorillas in the mist' because of the misty mountains that these cousins of man call home.
Here is a little specific information about these great highland friends;
Gorillas are omnivorous animals, they belong to the family of mammals. The average life span of the gorilla in the wild is 35 years. They can grow up to a Standing height of, 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) and a weight of 300 to 485 lbs (135 to 220 kg). A group of gorillas is called a troop or band, they're almost 98.6 percent human. A fully grown gorilla, standing up would equate to a 6-ft (2-m) tall human.
As a distinction from lowland gorillas, Mountain gorillas have longer hair and shorter arms than their lowland cousins (endemic to central and western Africa). They also tend to be a bit larger than other gorillas.
Gorillas can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals. These troops are organized according to fascinating social structures. Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.
The leader organizes troop activities like eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group's 0.75-to-16-square-mile (2-to-40-square-kilometer) home range.
Those who challenge this alpha male are apt to be cowed by impressive shows of physical power. He may stand upright, throw things, make aggressive charges, and pound his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a frightening roar. Despite these displays and the animals' obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and non-aggressive unless they are disturbed.
In the thick forests of central and west Africa, troops find plentiful food for their vegetarian diet. They eat roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp.
Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tinyweighing four pounds (two kilograms)and able only to cling to their mothers' fur. These infants ride on their mothers' backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives.
Young gorillas, from three to six years old, remind human observers of children. Much of their day is spent in play, climbing trees, chasing one another, and swinging from branches.
In captivity, gorillas have displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language.
Daily visits are arranged by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to visit these mountain friends. Presently, it costs $500 USD for a day of tracking for these noble cousins.
With the mountains gorillas as a feature i will cover in this article, I hope to write more articles about Africa and Uganda in particular and so would like to cover the depth and richness of this so called 'dark' continent. I hope that with reading this, you can understand that more than all the disease, poverty and choas that is covered frequently on television. There's immense beauty that the creator has gifted this nation and continent with and if only you had a chance to experience it, it would enrich your life and the life of anyone else that got to learn about it.
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