Mountain Gorilla (Wildlife by CollectA)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

As its name suggests, the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) inhabits chilly mountain forests in a tiny section of Central Africa, at elevations ranging from 2200 to 4300 metres. Much of what we know of this wonderful ape comes from the meticulous research of mammalogist George Schaller and the late primatologist Dian Fossey, who gave her life in the service of protecting her beloved gorillas.

This mountain gorilla is the sole primate in CollectA’s 2020 assortment and the last of my review samples from them. Like many gorilla figures, this one is sculpted in a quadrupedal stance. The head is turned to look to the left, the arms are planted fairly close together, and the legs are spread further apart. The huge, domed head tells us right away that this individual is a male. The expression on his face is relaxed and contemplative, and combined with his neutral stance, suggests that he is simply pausing to survey his surroundings.

Like all gorillas, the mountain species is strictly vegetarian, and generally peaceable unless threatened or provoked. They are certainly a darned sight better-natured than chimpanzees. You may recall that in the original Planet of the Apes films, gorillas were the soldiers, chimpanzees were the scientists, and orangutans were the administrators, but based on what we now know about our fellow apes, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. A more realistic and effective society would have chimpanzees as soldiers due to their ferocity and cunning, orangutans as scientists due to their curiosity and intelligence, and gorillas as administrators due to their leadership skills. They are firm and fierce when they need to be, but also decisive, devoted, and compassionate.

Our gorilla measures a good 8 cm long and 8 cm tall. His main colour, naturally, is black. Greyish-brown is splashed on his face and back, and there are flecks of reddish-purple in the fur on his head and limbs. The same colour is applied to his hands and the soles of his feet. Finally, his piercing eyes are dark orange. While this colour choice does make the eyes stand out more, real gorillas always have dark brown eyes.

Unlike so many other male gorilla figures, this one has nary a single silver hair visible on his back. This means he is an immature blackback between 8 and 12 years of age, and subservient to the reigning silverback. But judging from his enormous arms, barrel-like torso, and stout legs, he’ll undoubtedly become a formidable silverback in his own right someday. A fully grown silverback can weigh in at well over 181 kg (400 lbs) and possesses physical strength many times greater than that of any human. But as it stands, I think this blackback is a most welcome touch of variety.

Mountain gorillas can be distinguished from lowland gorillas by their thicker fur, and the fur on this blackback does indeed appear dense and bushy, especially on his arms and haunches. Most of his face is covered in shorter fur save for his muzzle, which has a wrinkled texture. Tiny ears are visible on his head and there is visible musculature on his neck, chest, and back. His knuckles and the soles of his feet are covered in wrinkles as well, which is a great touch. His head appears somewhat less bushy than most of the male mountain gorillas I have seen pictures of, but given that this individual is still growing, this could have been intentional on the sculptor’s part. Mountain gorillas also have slightly shorter arms than their lowland cousins, and indeed, the arms on this figure do appear to be shorter than those on other gorilla figures that I have seen in stores.

Gorillas have long been one of my favourite mammals, in large part due to how strikingly similar they are to us. It was always my intention to add one to my son’s animal collection, and thus I am grateful to CollectA for bestowing this one on me for review. It is a vast improvement over their original gorilla figure, and the fact that it is a mountain subspecies and a blackback makes it all the more unique. Definitely a worthwhile acquisition!