Despite its amazing strength, the largest members of the primate family are gentle giants. The gorilla's peaceful, easy-going nature hasn't been recognized until recently. People used to live in fear of the gorilla and tell stories of attacks where the huge apes tore trees out of the ground and threw them at intruders. Several scientists know the great apes better now because they've gone to central Africa's rainforests and lived close to them. One of the first people brave enough to live with gorillas was Dian Fossey. She observed their peaceful family life in the wild and wrote a book called Gorillas in the Mist.
The male gorilla has broad shoulders, a huge chest, and long arms, but you're probably still looking at the shiny, black face. The ridge of bone above the eyes seems to furrow the brow into an angry frown. The crest of bone above the forehead helps make the gorilla look fierce. The oldest male is called a silverback because of the grey colour of some of the hair on his back. He can stand about 182 centimetres tall and weigh about 225 kilograms. Mature females usually weigh about 90 kilograms and stand 152 centimetres tall. Black to brownish hair covers the whole body except for the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and the face. The family group led by the silverback usually consists of as many as ten adult females with their babies and juveniles, and some younger males called blackbacks, who may be the leader's sons. They all follow the silverback, as he is their protection and makes all of the decisions about where to travel, eat, and sleep.
Gorillas support most of their weight on their feet as they walk on
all fours. They use the knuckles on the back of the hands to support
some of the upper body weight. They can only walk a few steps
without putting the knuckles back on the ground. Look at the
sketch of their hands and feet and you can see how similar they
are to yours. The gorilla's big toe spreads like a thumb to help the
gorilla grab.
Gorillas don't spend so much time in trees, as other primates like chimpanzees and orang-utans do. The females and young gorillas will build a nest to sleep in a fork of a tree a few feet up, but the larger males build their crude nest on the ground below them. Old silverback will get the family up at sunrise to wander in search of breakfast. Both mountain and lowland gorillas are herbivorous. They love bamboo shoots, but they eat the fruit and leaves of a wide variety of tropical plants. They seem to obtain enough moisture from the dew on the plants they eat, but if they do ever take a drink, they just dip their hand in the water and suck it off the soaked fur. The group moves each day and doesn't spend more than one night in the same location. If they find another group in their feeding area, they visit awhile and seldom ever fight.
Females begin having babies when they are about seven and have a baby about every fourth year. If the mother loses the baby at infancy, she may have another one the next year. Baby gorillas are born after a nine-month gestation, weigh about 4 pounds at birth, and have very little hair. Just like a human baby, it is very dependent on its mother who will cradle the tiny gorilla in her arms and nurse it. In three months the baby can crawl and hang onto the fur on Mom's back as she travels, and at five months it can walk. It will nurse until it's about a year old, and will ride on its mother's back until it's at least three years old.
The reputation for violence probably comes from the silverback's elaborate display used to warn intruders. He will growl and hoot, beat his chest like a drum, and tear up grass and bushes. If this doesn't scare the intruder away, he may charge, gnash his teeth, and wave his arms wildly. He and another silverback may be nose to nose, glaring and growling until one of them usually stomps off into the woods. Leopards won't even attack those big male gorillas; they just wanted a tasty baby one, and they probably saw this big guy snap large limbs like they were twigs. Dian Fossey said she made an ugly face at a charging gorilla, and he stopped and sat looking at her. They aren't mean. They have to behave this way to protect their family.
Gorillas used to be hunted for food and trophies, but thanks to conservationists they are now a protected species. Sanctuaries have been set up in Africa, but people there are so poor they are cutting the forests and making cropland. More than 300 gorillas live in zoos in America. These captive gorillas are having babies and doing very well, but it sure would be great to save the natural habitat for wild gorillas.
