Scott Hanko
Gorilla Walking on Two Feet
Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Western Gorillas live in groups that vary in size between 2 and 20 individuals, composed of at least one male, several females and their offspring. A dominant male silverback heads the group, with younger males usually leaving the group when they reach maturity. Females transfer to another group before breeding, which begins at eight to nine years old; they care for their young infant for the first three to four years of its life. There is therefore a long interval between births, which partly explains the slow population growth rates that make the western gorilla so vulnerable to poaching. Due to the long gestation time, long period of parental care, and infant mortality, a female gorilla will only give birth to an offspring that survives to maturity every six to eight years. Gorillas are long-lived and may survive for as long as 40 years in the wild.
Fruit forms a large part of the Western Gorilla's diet and they will travel further each day in search of fruiting trees than their eastern relatives. The distance that gorillas travel in the forest each day while they are searching for fruit trees varies between one and four kilometres. A group's home range may be as large as 30 square kilometres but is not actively defended. Wild Western Gorillas are known to use tools.
A study published in 2007 in the American Journal of Primatology announced the discovery of the fighting back against possible threats from humans. They "found several instances of gorillas throwing sticks and clumps of grass." This is unusual, because gorillas usually flee and rarely charge when encountered by humans.
The Western Lowland Gorilla is the smallest subspecies of the Gorilla. A male can stand full erectly 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) tall and weigh almost 180 kg (400 lb). According to the late John Aspinall, a Silverback gorilla in his prime has the physical strength of 7 - 8 Olympic weight lifters but this claim is unverified.
Wild Animal Park Escondido Ca.
Gorilla Walking on Two Feet
Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Western Gorillas live in groups that vary in size between 2 and 20 individuals, composed of at least one male, several females and their offspring. A dominant male silverback heads the group, with younger males usually leaving the group when they reach maturity. Females transfer to another group before breeding, which begins at eight to nine years old; they care for their young infant for the first three to four years of its life. There is therefore a long interval between births, which partly explains the slow population growth rates that make the western gorilla so vulnerable to poaching. Due to the long gestation time, long period of parental care, and infant mortality, a female gorilla will only give birth to an offspring that survives to maturity every six to eight years. Gorillas are long-lived and may survive for as long as 40 years in the wild.
Fruit forms a large part of the Western Gorilla's diet and they will travel further each day in search of fruiting trees than their eastern relatives. The distance that gorillas travel in the forest each day while they are searching for fruit trees varies between one and four kilometres. A group's home range may be as large as 30 square kilometres but is not actively defended. Wild Western Gorillas are known to use tools.
A study published in 2007 in the American Journal of Primatology announced the discovery of the fighting back against possible threats from humans. They "found several instances of gorillas throwing sticks and clumps of grass." This is unusual, because gorillas usually flee and rarely charge when encountered by humans.
The Western Lowland Gorilla is the smallest subspecies of the Gorilla. A male can stand full erectly 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) tall and weigh almost 180 kg (400 lb). According to the late John Aspinall, a Silverback gorilla in his prime has the physical strength of 7 - 8 Olympic weight lifters but this claim is unverified.
Wild Animal Park Escondido Ca.