| Latin Name: | Gorilla gorilla |
| Category: | Mammals |
| Fun Facts: |
- The average adult male gorilla stands about six feet tall and weighs about 350 to 400 pounds. The female stands about five feet tall and weighs about 160 to 200 pounds.
- You can probably move your thumb in all kinds of directions and bend it to help you grab on to things. A gorilla has this kind of “opposable” thumb on both its hands and its feet.
- Gorillas move around using both their arms and legs. This is called "knuckle walking."
- An adult male gorilla is called a silverback. Even though the hair on his back is silver, it doesn’t mean he is old. It just means that he has become an adult.
- Like your fingerprints, gorillas have unique noseprints.
- A gorilla builds a new nest to sleep in every night. In zoos, gorillas are given hay, twigs and other materials to make beds.
- A gorilla is an herbivore, eating mostly fruit, leaves, bulbs, roots and bark—up to 60 pounds a day. It may also occasionally eat insects such as ants or termites. In captivity, gorillas eat leafy green vegetables such as green leaf, iceberg, romaine and red leaf lettuces. Fruits are readily eaten and include apples, oranges, bananas, grapefruit and various berries.
- The gorilla lives between 30 and 40 years in the wild. In captivity, gorillas can live to be more than 50 years old.
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| Information: |
How would you like to be the boss in your family? A group of gorillas is called a troop, and it can have up to 30 members in it. The boss of a troop is a male silverback. As the head of the troop, the silverback makes all the big decisions for them, including when they will wake up, where they will eat and where they will stop to sleep. It sounds fun to be the one who makes all the choices. But the silverback also has more difficult jobs, like settling arguments in the group and protecting them from anyone or anything who might hurt them. If he sees a human, a leopard or another unfriendly male gorilla, the silverback may show his strength in several ways. He might beat his hands on his chest, scream, bare his teeth, break branches or charge. Most of the time, he will use these actions to scare away an opponent rather than fight.
Gorillas also have special ways of communicating with one another, including facial expressi ons, sounds, gestures and ways of holding their bodies. They have strong families, with both mother and father helping to take care of the babies. A gorilla will ride on its mother’s back for 2 1/2 to three years, until it is strong enough to walk by itself for long distances. Young gorillas chase, wrestle and play with one another along with any adults they can get to join in. This helps them to get stronger and more coordinated.
Sadly, gorillas are on the IUCN Red List as a critically endangered species. Man has been the biggest threat to them, hunting them for meat and destroying the rain forests where gorillas make their homes.
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| Habitat: |
Located in the African Forest Region. The African Forest Region immerses guests in the culture and environment of an African rainforest. Attention is also given to the role of field conservation and research on gorillas and bonobos. The gorillas can be seen in their expansive outdoor exhibit during good weather, generally late spring through fall. The outdoor area features multiple levels in a round structure featuring ropes, earthen mounds and other  fixtures on which to climb, swing, and rest. Indoors, the gorillas have access to a 360 degree exhibit which “encloses” the visitors in the inside! Large artificial trees and climbing structures offer many horizontal and vertical challenges for the gorillas. Information on the gorilla groups as well as on wild gorilla behavior is found throughout the region. |