Gorilla

Gorilla
	Silverback adult male western lowland gorilla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Homininae
Tribe:	Gorillini
Genus:	Gorilla
Type species
	Gorilla gorilla; Savage, 1847
	Distribution of gorillas

Gorilla is a genus of African apes commonly known as gorillas. They are divided into two species, the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei).

Behavior

Gorillas may be aggressive when attacked or provoked, but they are naturally gentle. They are generally herbivores, which means that they eat plants. But they also eat insects.

Life span

A gorilla's lifespan in the wild is between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more because they have more food and health care.^[1]

Taxonomy

Genus Gorilla
- Western gorilla, Gorilla gorilla
  - Western lowland gorilla, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
  - Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli^[2]
- Eastern gorilla, Gorilla beringei
  - Mountain gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei
  - Eastern lowland gorilla, Gorilla beringei graueri

Evolutionary tree of the superfamily Hominoidea. It highlights the subfamily Homininae. First the gibbons (Hylobatidae) split from the main line some 18 million years ago. Next, the subfamily Ponginae broke away—leading to the current orangutan. Later the Homininae split into the tribe Hominini (with subtribes Hominina and Panina), and the tribe Gorillini

Appearance

Gorillas are large apes. Fully grown males are can be very strong. An adult male gorilla can weigh up to 225 kilograms and stand 1.8 meters in height. Gorillas live in family groups called troops. They have a broad chest, wide shoulders, short legs, and long strong arms. They have black skin and hair. Adult male gorillas' hair becomes silver/grey on their backs as they become older. Because of that, older males are called "silverbacks". There is a much bigger difference in sizes between the sexes than is the case with humans.

Life

Gorillas live in the rainforests in central Africa. They mostly live on the ground, but they can also climb. When on the ground, they walk on their feet and finger knuckles.^[3]^[4]^[5] Troops of gorillas wander slowly through the forests of Central Africa. For about half of their day they search for leaves, vines, and bamboo shoots to eat. Sometimes they also eat ants or termites. For the rest of the day, they lay in the sun and play with their children. If another gorilla threatens them, the troop's leader, the silverback, protects them by rearing up and beating his chest. Although mostly vegetarian, they have long canine teeth or fangs that the adult males sometimes use to fight each other for the troop leadership.

Gorillas sleep in nests that they build on the ground. At the end of each day, each adult gorilla spends a few minutes putting together a soft, flat bed made of leaves, branches, and moss. The young gorillas sleep with their mothers.

The gestation period (when a baby grows inside the mother) of a gorilla lasts between eight and ten months. Gorillas almost always produce one offspring - twins are rare. Gorilla babies begin to hang onto their mothers when they are only a few hours old and will continue to do so for the next three years. Gorillas live up to 50 years in the wild and up to 54 years in captivity.^[6]