But data seems to indicate that western lowland gorillas live in smaller groups, averaging about five individuals. Gorillas live in groups, or troops, from two to over 30 members. Thus, the information found here is only a general guide. Gorillas are flexible in their nature and behavior. Similarly, urine drinking might be explained as the recollection of minerals. Coprophagy allows an animal to utilize this food. Gorillas do not have very efficient digestive systems for a high fiber diet, so unprocessed food can be found in their feces. Coprophagy is seen in the wild and is defined as the eating of feces. Provision of forage foods, increased smaller feedings and providing browse seem to reduce this behavior in some individuals. Biologists do not entirely understand why gorillas exhibit this behavior in human care.Ī few ideas include starch or sugar content, mineral recapture or the food tasting good.
Regurgitation and reingestion involves an animal regurgitating some of its food and re-eating it. They are regurgitation and reingestion, coprophagy (eating feces) and urine drinking. These behaviors are natural, though not to humans. There are three feeding behaviors sometimes observed in gorillas in human care that can bother visitors. Some of the gorillas favorite browse options are Bradford pear, willow, mulberry with berries and maple. Morning and evening foods include chow, greens, fruits and vegetables.įorage items placed in hay for the gorillas include popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, "enrich bits," beans and diced fruits and vegetables. In the afternoon, individuals are separated so each animal gets its share of preferred food items. In the summer, this is usually done in the yard. Food items are cut up and spread over a wide area. Females eat about two-thirds of that amount.Īt the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the group is fed together in the morning. Adult male gorillas eat about 45 pounds (32 kilograms) of food per day. Gorillas get some protein from invertebrates found on leaves and fruits. Other gorilla subspecies eat proportionally less fruit. They also eat the fleshy fruits of close to a hundred seasonally fruiting tree species. Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, eating the leaves and stems of herbs, shrubs and vines. Like other primates, each individual has distinctive fingerprints. Gorillas' arms are longer than their legs when they move on all fours, they knuckle-walk, supporting their weight on the third and fourth digits of their curled hands. In comparison to the mountain gorilla, the western lowland gorilla has a wider and larger skull, and their big toe is spread apart more from the alignment of the other four toes.
Adult female gorillas also have these crests, but they are much less pronounced. These crests anchor the massive muscles used to support and operate their large jaws and teeth. They also have a differently shaped nose and lip than other subspecies.Īdult male gorillas' heads look conical due to the large bony crests on the top and back of the skull. Compared to other subspecies, western lowland gorillas have a more pronounced brow ridge and ears that appear small in relation to their heads. Western lowland females may go gray below the ears and on the neck and top of the head as they age.
In western lowland gorillas, the silver may extend to rump and thighs. Mature silverback males have a saddle of white hair across the small of their backs.
WEST LOWLAND GORILLA PATCH
The white patch helps the mother keep track of the infant and assists other group members in identifying the gorilla as an infant. A small white tuft of hair on their rump distinguishes infants up to four years old. Western lowland gorillas may have a more brownish coloration. Short, thin, gray-black to brown-black hair covers the entire body except the face.
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