A Gorilla looks just a human with its two arms, two legs, and petite ears on either side of the head, eyes that look straight and 32 teeth! They make loud wailing sounds when they cry; but do not have tears. They laugh just like us and can feel anger, sadness etc. They even pick their noses like us! Hanno, an explorer, who met them first, thought they were savage women with hairy bodies!
Physical Characteristics
Don’t make the mistake of thinking the half sized gorilla to be a gorilla’s baby. It is a female gorilla. A male gorilla grows to 5 and ½ feet tall and weighs a whopping 400 pounds. Their body is covered with brown and hairy hair.
Lifestyle of Gorillas
Gorillas are very shy. Male gorillas are called silverbacks simply to show the silver fur growing on their back. Their lifestyle is simple- eat, play and sleep. Female gorillas spend their time in grooming themselves and male gorillas. They find this activity to be very soothing and relaxing. They live in groups called troops, and the female gorilla leaves the group at 8 years to find a new mate.
How do Gorillas Communicate?
Gorillas send out foul odors to communicate! When they are not using this ugly method of communication; they communicate by chest-slapping or beating their chests with open hands, in tremendous excitement or furious wrath. They can understand what you are saying to them and can reply back in sign language! They have difficulty in locating their friends in the dense woods, hence they have developed 20 forms of vocal sounds; that include grunting like pigs, howling like wolves, snorting, and howling like dogs.
Gorillas use their knuckles to walk, as their arms are longer than their feet.
What do Gorillas eat?
Gorillas can eat a gigantic lump sum of 30 kilograms each day which consists of bamboo, ripe fruits, leafy stalks and shoots. They might venture out and eat an insect as a special treat. But they are scared of getting bit by the black ants, so they shake the ground at first to scare it.
Baby gorillas stay with their mothers till the time it is for you to attend nursery school, which is 3 years. Babies learn from other members of the group on how to hunt for food and mingle with others peacefully. Baby gorillas play raucously in the mountains of Africa under the vigilant eyes of their mothers. They can be naughty and pull their mother’s hairs for fun.
Where do Gorillas live?
Gorillas live in Central Africa in countries like Uganda and Rwanda, in forests and lowlands. They live up to 50 years. But sadly they are becoming an endangered species.
10 Amazing Facts about Gorillas
- When a baby gorilla is taken away forcefully by humans for use to display in the zoos, the mother gorilla and other gorillas who try to defend back; are killed.
- Gorillas are hunted for their meat by humans. We humans also are destroying their natural habitat.
- Gorillas are not only hunted by humans, but also by alligators and cheetahs. Fortunately the gorilla cannot swim, and hence the alligator has to attack it on land.
- Shockingly, only 5000 gorillas remain in the wild today!
- Gorillas DNA matches to humans at 98%!
- A gorilla can contract pneumonia just like us, in the frosty winters.
- Gorillas will never sleep in the same nest for more than one night!
- A female gorilla gives birth to 3 babies only in her lifetime.
- A gorilla can be identified by its unique finger print, like humans.
- A gorilla does not have a tail like its other primates!