Describe Gorillas

The Gorilla beringei beringei or mountain gorilla, was first discovered on October 17th 1902, by a German officer named Captain Robert von Beringe (Berggorilla and Direkthilfe, 2002). Mountain gorillas play a large role in it’s particular ecosystem through consumption the gorillas control and maintain vegetation that is vital for a healthy environment not only for the primate but also other species that live in the environment as well. Since the discovery of the mountain gorilla much fascination has been drawn toward the species. However, the gentle creature’s population has had a sharp decline from Rwanda’s belief in sumu, poaching, human disease, and unregulated tourism. In efforts to revive the species population from extinction, persistent activism through worldly foundations are helping protect the mountain gorilla species.

Gorillas are the largest group of primates and although they are known as being bipedal, similar to humans and other primates, they often use knuckle walking to move around. On observation, they have seems to have a more robust front appearance than their hind legs and behind. Their cranium is taller than other primates and lower mandible more protruding than their snout. They also have human-like ears that are parallel to their eyes and are small in size. They have

Within these small groups, the Cross River Gorilla has very predominant traits to keep them alive when almost extinct and facing a harsh environment (What’s Our Mission). These gorillas have a considerably large body size and they also have quite large hands but short forearms; along with small forward facing eyes that are put close together on top of a large nasal region (Etiendem, D., & Tagg, N,). Due to being so big they need a lot of nutrients, and in order to obtain enough food, they eat a large array of diets such as plants in many varieties, and fruits (Etiendem, D., & Tagg, N.). Since they live in the higher parts of the mountains near the border of Nigeria, the amount of fruit trees that exist are much lower than other regions, so they have come to rely on vegetation (Etiendem, D., & Tagg, N.). Since almost all fruit is seasonal, the primates must learn when they can eat one type, and when vegetation is important. (Etiendem, D., & Tagg, N.), (Imong, I., & Robbins, M.). The food they eat also determines how sexually successful they will be in the coming years.

They can be found in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. True to their name, mountain gorillas live up in the Virungas mountains specifically in the volcanic slopes where it is green. They live in forest that are very high in altitude. Mountain gorillas eat many plants such as bamboo, wild celery, leaves, shoots, and fruits. They also eat ants, snails, and grubs.

Have you ever wondered about gorillas? A gorilla is a very strong built great ape with a large head and short neck. Gorillas are the largest member of the primate family. Gorillas are quiet, shy, peaceful, and live in central Africa and tropical rainforests. Several thousand years ago, gorillas split from its closest relative the chimpanzees. There are four types of gorillas, being Eastern lowland, Western lowland, mountain, and cross river gorillas. Ecology is how organism interact with one another and the environment. It is the study of relationships between two living organisms.

On Saturday, May 28, 2016, Harambe a very rare silverback gorilla was shot and killed at Cincinnati Zoo. A three year old boy climbed through the railings, at his own risk, and down a fifteen foot drop into Harambe’s secluded enclosure. The gorilla was then seen picking up the boy and dragging him into the water. The boy suffered injuries but mainly from the fall. The question that has been taking over the internet and news stations, should the gorilla have been shot and killed to get the young child out of there to safety?

This paper aims to study the traits of non-human primates. By observing two types of primates including Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and Western Gorillas (Gorilla Gorillas), I try to find out their characteristics, pattern of their behavior, and differences between these two primate species. Especially, characteristics and behavior such as social interaction, food acquisition and intelligence will be discussed and compared in this paper. In order to enhance the persuasiveness of my observation, I recorded and examined at least 25 distinct characteristics of both Common Squirrel Monkeys and Western Gorillas. It is also helpful for me to compare these two primates. Apart from exploring the primates’ traits and differentiation between them, this paper will discuss the effects of captivity. How being in captivity and on display in a zoo would influence their behaviors and emotions? The observation was a great success and I have successfully derived with a hypothesis base on our observing data. The ultimate goal of this paper is arousing humans’ awareness of the importance of studying primates.

There are many wild animals in the world are in danger. The mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are one of the most threatened species in the world that inherited from monkeys (Macaca Fascicularis) and apes (Hominoidea), which was found in Africa and Arabia about 34-24 millions years ago. Mountain gorillas are Animalia, which phylum is Chordata and class of Mammalia. The mountain gorilla is a subspecies of eastern gorilla, which live in two regions in Africa. There are three countries where mountain gorillas live. They are Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. According to National geographic, there are about 700 mountain gorillas remaining in the earth and half of them live in a Virunga mountains in central Africa. In average, they live about 35 years; the standing height of a mountain gorilla is between 4-6 feet. They’re weight usually between 300-485 pounds and they are bit larger than other type of gorillas. Mountain gorilla usually live in a group and head of their group is called ‘silverback’ that is an adult male who grow a patch of silver hair on their back and hips. However, when dominant silverback die, the whole group face hard time to regroup themselves. Female gorilla usually becomes sexually mature before male gorilla. At the age of 7-8 female gorillas become sexually active, however they started to breed few years later. On the other hand, male gorilla starts

I observed a type of Ape known as the Western Lowland Gorilla. The scientific name for a Gorilla is the Gorilla gorilla. Gorillas are the largest of all living primates and at native to west central Africa. Gorillas exhibit sexual dimorphism within their species because males are very obviously much larger than females. The size of the gorillas came across very intimating and gave me an off impression of what this specie was actually going to be like. While observing the gorillas I noticed that these creatures are very slow, lethargic primates. Gorillas move quadrupedally by putting weight down on their arms and knuckles as they walk. They have hands and opposable thumbs, like humans, and are able to grasp things with a better grip. When Gorillas need to reach above themselves such as for leaves or branches they are able to stand on both legs while reaching. While resting Gorillas sit on their bottoms, legs to the side in a similar position that humans do. When resting I noticed that sometimes Gorillas like to take advantage of the moment by self grooming, using their hands. Gorillas usually have an herbivore diet but eat occasional insects. Due to their large body structure it is harder for them move around quickly so they do not need to eat foods that contain as much nutrients and proteins as smaller,

Gorillas are ground dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests in central Africa. They are the largest living primates by physical size. They are highly similar and are the next closest living relatives of humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the western and eastern gorillas.

I have finally came to a very difficult decision of choosing the new mascot for our school. I have chose the Lowland Gorillas. In the two following paragraphs I will explain my decision of choosing the Gorillas and also why I think they are the best option. We would need a mascot that is tough and dangerous and will crush the enemy. I feel like the gorilla is our best option for that.

Gorillas in the Mist is one of the most emotional and inspiring books I have ever read. This autobiography is by, in my eyes, the most admired researcher ever to walk the face of this earth. There is no woman more dedicated to anything than Dian Fossey. This woman stood her ground through thick and thin to protect the lives of one of the most threatened species today.

Chapter 1: Dian Fossey plans a trip for seven weeks to Africa where she will study gorillas and meet scientists Louis and Mary Leakey. Fossey goes with the Leakey’s to look at a giraffe fossil at an excavation site. She ends up falling into the ditch where the fossil was, breaking her ankle and throwing up all over the fossil. After two weeks of recovering, Fossey goes to study gorillas with Alan Root, a photographer, and his wife, Joan. After watching the gorillas, Fossey returns to her hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Leakey then offers Fossey an opportunity to study gorillas in Africa for a long period of time, and it will be completely free for Fossey. Fossey agrees and once again begins her trip to Africa. She goes out with her

Beginning with the most intelligent of the bunch, the (western lowland) gorillas I observed were quite inactive. This is certainly so because they are known to only be hunted by man leaving no competition outside of their own species. This fact makes it apparent why these kings of the jungle sit around so often. In the wild and even in zoos it may be difficult for a male to find mates because groups of gorillas are POLYGYNOUS. So usually one male is the father of all of the offspring. Being this way, male gorillas must display DOMINANCE over others and even stand their ground against an incoming male that may threaten the family. Going back to how they sit all day, gorillas are able to do this because they don’t even have to move to replenish energy for the reason that they are grass and leaf eaters (vegetarians). Not having to move very much makes gorillas capable of having a low-quality diet.

Dian helped us connect even more to the foreign primates by focusing on the different habits of mother, baby, and adolescent gorillas. Giving each gorilla a name, Fossey helped us almost humanize the animals through her vivid descriptions of their personality and behavior. She showed us that gorilla mothers protect, care for, and discipline their infants. Gorilla babies develop much the same ways humans do; acquiring skills as they age. Adolescents can be just as curious as they are mischievous. Fossey's work helps replace the image of the gorilla as a ferocious animal into one that is kind, gentle, and more human-like that we had never known.