Before the 6,000 years of the Ice Age in which many of the world’s species were lost, lowland and gorillas had their habitat close to the habitat of the mountain gorillas. However at the end of this disastrous age, their habitats were separated by a long area of savanna vegetation which stretches for about 900 kilometers.

Today they all still inhabit the tropical and subtropical forests of Africa in which they find shelter and from which they get their food. The major difference is that the mountain gorillas reside at higher altitudes (between 2,500 and 4,000 meters above sea level) than their counterparts the lowland gorillas. Some lowland gorillas have been transferred from their natural habitat to countries in the west but a reasonable population of these continues to reside in their natural habitats in West Africa.

Mountain gorillas; an endangered species are restricted to three countries and live in four protected areas the Virunga National Park in Congo; Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda; and Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks in southwestern Uganda.