Gorillas are very intelligent and have been taught simple sign language
in captivity. Like chimpanzees, gorillas have been observed using tools
in the wild.
Western lowland gorillas are endangered, but they remain far more
common than their relatives, the mountain gorillas. They live in heavy
rain forests, and it is difficult for scientists to accurately estimate
how many survive in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Western lowland gorillas tend to be a bit smaller than their mountain cousins. They also have shorter hair and longer arms.
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 three-quarter- 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 nonaggressive 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 tiny—weighing 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.
In
the wild, these primates are under siege. Forest loss is a twofold
threat; it destroys gorilla habitat and brings hungry people who hunt
gorillas for bushmeat. Farming, grazing, and expanding human settlements
are also shrinking the lowland gorilla's space.
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Mammal
- Diet:
- Omnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 35 years
- Size:
- Standing height, 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m)
- Weight:
- 150 to 400 lbs (68 to 181 kg)
- Group name:
- Troop
- Protection status:
- Endangered
- Did you know?
- Western lowland gorillas live in the smallest family groups of all gorillas, with an average of 4 to 8 members in each.
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