Malesilverbackmountaingorillasgaintheirdistinctivesilvertingeatabout13yearsold,whentheyreachadulthood.——PhotographbyMichaelNicholsThereareroughlymountaingorillasremainingonEarth,andnearlyhalfliveintheforestsoftheVirungamountainsincentralAfrica.Thesegorillasliveonthegreen,volcanicslopesofRwanda,Uganda,andtheDemocraticRepublicofCongo—areasthathaveseenmuchhumanviolencefromwhichthegorillashavenotescapedunscathed.Manyconservationinitiativesaremeanttoaidmountaingorillas,anditisbelievedthattheirnumbersmaybesteadyorslowlyincreasing.Stilltheycontinuetofacemajorthreatsfromhabitatlossandpoaching.山地大猩猩（学名Gorillaberingeiberingei）是东部大猩猩两个亚种之一。牠们分类两群：一群在中非维龙加山脉的四个国家公园，包括乌干达西南的姆加新加大猩猩国家公园、卢旺达西北的维龙加火山公园、刚果民主共和国东部的维龙加国家公园及卡胡兹别加国家公园。另一群则在乌干达的布温迪森林。由于失去栖息地、捕猎、人类疾病及战争，山地大猩猩在世界自然保护联盟濒危物种红色名录中仍是处于极危情况。年9月3日发生劳伦特·恩孔达及刚果*队之间的冲突，更令处于刚果处的山地大猩猩失去保护而面临威胁。Mountaingorillashavelongerhairandshorterarmsthantheirlowlandcousins.Theyalsotendtobeabitlargerthanothergorillas.Gorillascanclimbtrees,butareusuallyfoundonthegroundin