![]() ![]() Larger groups travel greater distances in order to obtain sufficient food. Populations feeding on high-energy foods that vary spatially and seasonally tend to have greater day ranges than those feeding on lower-quality but more consistently available foods. Gorillas normally travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per day. The group usually favours a certain area within the home range, but seems to follow a seasonal pattern depending upon the availability of ripening fruits and, at some sites, localised large open clearings (swamps and "bais"). Gorillas do not display territorial behavior, and neighboring groups often overlap ranges. Western lowland gorilla groups travel within a home range typically between 8 and 45 km 2 (3 and 17 sq mi) in area. Western lowland gorillas at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan This style of movement requires long arms indeed, the arm span of western gorillas is greater than their standing height. Western gorillas frequently stand upright, but walk in a hunched, quadrupedal fashion, with hands curled and knuckles touching the ground. Zoo owner John Aspinall claimed a silverback gorilla in his prime has the physical strength of seven or eight Olympic weightlifters, but this claim is unverified. Males in captivity, however, are noted to be capable of reaching weights up to 275 kg (606 lb). ![]() Males have an average weight of 140 kg (310 lb), females of 90 kg (200 lb). Ī male standing erect can be up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) tall and weigh up to 270 kg (600 lb). Among these teeth are strong sets of frontal canines and large molars in the back of the mouth for grinding fruits and vegetables. Other features are large muscles in the jaw region along with broad and strong teeth. They have short muzzles, prominent brow ridges, large nostrils and small eyes and ears. Their hands are proportionately large with nails on all digits (similar to those of humans) and very large thumbs. This coloration is the reason why older males are known as "silverbacks". The hair on the back and rump of males takes on a grey coloration and is also lost as they get older. They possess no tails and have jet black skin along with coarse black hair that covers their entire body except for the face, ears, hands and feet. This species of gorillas exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism. We really don’t know how he’ll grow and change.The western lowland gorilla is the smallest subspecies of gorilla but still has exceptional size and strength. Some are silly and some are authoritarian. “Gorillas all have individual behaviors and personalities. “He’ll either be a goofball his entire life or at some point he’ll stop, maybe when he becomes a father,” Zdrojewski said. The question now for Zola’s keepers is how long he’ll keep up his youthful antics. Video of the routine amassed nearly 4 million views on YouTube. Zola was moved to the Dallas Zoo in 2013, his keepers said. Back in 2011, at Canada’s Calgary Zoo, a significantly smaller Zola was filmed thoroughly enjoying a wet concrete floor, as well as spinning. This isn’t Zola’s first time going viral for his watery play routine. “Again, amazing grace and balance, but so sad in both cases to see such magnificent beings in such bleak concrete, steel and glass enclosures leading a life of social and sensory deprivation compared to their wild brethren.” “There is a video online of another silverback in a Japanese zoo spinning on a wet concrete floor,” he added. ![]() What surprises people who don’t know gorillas is how inventive and joyful their play can be, and how graceful they are.” ![]() “If you look closely at the zoo video, you can see the twirling gorilla has an open-mouthed play face, and I suspect if we had the real soundtrack instead of the superimposed music, we’d probably hear him play-chuckling,” Redmond said. Silverback western lowland gorillas, he noted, have been observed splashing water while harvesting plants in flooded clearings in the rain forest, a display that is also reminiscent of Zola’s behavior. Ian Redmond, a renowned conservationist and the founder of the Ape Alliance, agreed that Zola was expressing “exuberant play” with elements of “adult display.” He said that playful young gorillas in the wild love to swing on vines and sometimes twirl around until they get dizzy and fall over. ![]()
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