Gorillas and Grey

                                       

THE GORILLA

SILVERBACKS

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Interesting Facts:

• In the wild, gorillas gather into troops. The leader of a troop is the strongest silverback, a male adult whose hair has turned silver. He is the group's protector and decides where to look for food and where to sleep at night.
• The troop leader will defend the troop against any attacker. Gorilla attack:  http://animal.discovery.com/videos/gorilla-encounters-back-off.html
• When two opposing troops meet, males display themselves to other males. (watch out Miranda) 
• At first sign of danger a troop will silently move away.
• Gorilla's food isn't very nutritious, that's why it needs to eat so much. 
• They are fussy eaters. They will carefully examine food before eating it and throw away any that looks bad.
• Does not drink from streams or pools-- obtains water through fleshy fruit
• Diet includes: Tough stringy plants, bark, vines, bamboo, nuts, berries, fruit, bracket fungus.
• Will also eat slugs, ants and grubs. Sometimes soil for mineral content.
• Will dig to find tasty roots.
• When the gorilla is not hunting it is resting or sunbathing.
• At dusk the dominant silverback begins to gather leaves and branches for his night nest. The others follow his example. 
• (All information above, taken from signs at The Pittsburgh Public Zoo)
• A gorilla family usually includes one silverback, the strongest male and the undisputed leader, one immature male between 8 and 13 years old, three or four adult females, who stay with the silverback for life, and three to six youngsters under eight years old. Some groups are larger or smaller. Males sometimes travel alone or form bachelor groups.
  
• Facial expressions for communicating include a play face, lip-tucking (tension), protruding tongue (uncertainty or concentration), and yawning (stress)
  
• Gorillas produce more than 15 recognized vocalizations. Some sounds are used mainly for group communication because gorillas are nearly invisible to each other while feeding and traveling in the vegetation. Gorillas have never been observed hunting or feeding on any animals other than invertebrates such as termites and ants.Deep belches are common during feeding and suggest contentment. Pig-like grunts are used to establish right-of-way during foraging and to settle squabbles. Male gorillas roar and growl during aggressive behaviors. Silverbacks vocalize the most.
  
• (Information above, taken from www.planet-pets.com under Information on Gorillas)
  

I attempted to upload the pictures and videos I took at the zoo, but none of them worked, so I will try back with those on a later post. Sorry!