Anthroposophie

HIS TAXONOMY

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•   Genus Gorilla      

  • Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

    • Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)

    • Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

  • Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)

    • Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringel beringei)

    • Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringel graueri)

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WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM?

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In an expedition on the west African Coat, a Carthaginian explorer and his group  found "savage people, whose bodies were covered with hair". Their interpreters, who were local people, called them "Gorillae", which means `hairy person` and the name lasts untill nowadays.

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WHERE DO THEY LIVE?

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Both of the main species (Western and Eastern gorilla) live in Africa, but their distribution differs. While the Western one lives, as the name indicates, in west central Africa, the Eastern does the same in the east central part of the continent.

Gorillas show habitats that go from montane forests to swamps.

• Eastern gorilla:  montane and submontane forest

• Western gorilla: lowlands and swamps

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They use to built nests(amount of leaves and branches) that are placed on the ground, mailnly. Sometimes, they construct them on trees, but is quite unusual. Young gorillas nest with their mothers, but they learn how to built their owns after three years. Nesting is considered not only as animal architecture, but also as an important instance of tool use.

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WHAT DO THEY EAT?

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Not all species feed on then same food. Mountain gorillas use to eat mainly foliage(leaves, stems, pith and shoots), while Eastern lowland gorillas have a more diverse diet in which fruit is very important. They also eat insects as ants. Western lowland gorillas are the ones that eat most fruit.

It is curious that gorillas rarely drink water, because they consume succulent vegetation that contains the amount of water they need. However, there are documented drinking gorillas.

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DO THEY USE TOOLS?

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YES! Gorillas have been observed using tools in the wild. A female specimen was seen using a stick in order to gauge water´s depth before crossing. There are also cases of gorillas using stumps as bridges, using rocks to smash open palm nuts and even weapons such as fallen branches.

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HOW IS THEIR SOCIAL STRUCTURE?

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Gorillas live in groups called troops and lead by an adult male, the silverback. This individual is usually a grown male with big canines and silver hair on his back. He is the center of the troop´s attention, makes all decisions, mediates when there is a conflict, determines the group´s movements and takes responsability for the savety and well-being of the rest of the group. There are other males subordinated to the silverback that are called blackbacks and which are younger than him.

The rest of the group is formed by females, which form strong relationships with males in order to gain mating opportunities and protection. However, females use to act aggresively towards other females and are friendly only when they are rising up children.

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HOW DO THEY COMMUNICATE?

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Nowadays, there are 25 different vocalisations recognised., many of them used for grup communication within the forests. Deep and rumbling belches, heard during feeding, are the most common form of intragroup communication. Other sounds are grunts and barks heard while travelling and screams and roars as signal alarm and produced by the silverback, for example. They also use gestures and body postures.

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ARE THEY INTELLIGENT?

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They are considered highly intelligent, being able to learn a subset of sign language. Gorillas are able to laugh, have emotional lives, develop strong family bonds and to use tools. Different troops show even different cultures. 

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SOME INTERESTING FACTS

1. An adult gorilla is about 1m tall when walking using arms and legs.

2. Sadly, there are only about 700 mountain gorillas.

3. Gorillas can live for 40-50 years.

4. Young male gorillas usually leave their group when they are about 11 years old. They form their own troop with 15.

5. A female gorilla is pregnant between 8,5-9 months and gives birth to 1 baby at a time.

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