Mountain Gorilla

Mountain gorillas are so lucky. Their habitat is a lush mountain forest, high up in the Virunga mountains of Africa, whereas my habitat is boring Canada. I wish we could trade, but we both know the answer to that.

Male gorillas protect their families from any threats. The leader of the typical group is called a silverback. Do you see the hair on his back? Yeah, that turns from black to a silver-gray color when he matures. This process usually happens when he is 11-13 years old. Mountain gorillas spend the majority of their time eating plants, insects and worms.

Most people (including myself), sadly stereotype gorillas. When someone says "Gorilla" I automatically think of chest pounding, roaring and bared teeth, but research shows that gorillas are actually gentle and peaceful.That just goes to show you, "Never judge a book by it's cover".

These gorillas DO NOT live a peaceful life at all though. They are hunted for the sake of food or for trophies. Do you see that beautiful background in the picture above? Right now they are being cut down for farmland. Less than 650 of these gorillas are left in the wild today.

If you want to learn more about these gorillas (You know you do!) Click here.

North Pacific Right Whale

According to the Center For Biological Diversity, the North Pacific right whale is the most endangered whale on Earth. These whales are extremely large; the average length is a whopping 18.3 meters! Over 15,000 of these whales have been killed by whalers. Yeah, that's right... 15,000.

Right whales usually travel alone or in very small groups and since there are very few of these whales left, this is a HUGE threat. When disasters occur such as oil spills, this can easily wipe out the population of these whales. Did you know that? 

Where can you find these North Pacific right whales? So far, there is only one location. It's a small area in the southeastern Bering Sea. 

Click away for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Right_Whale