All About Gorillas

The gorilla is the largest of the primates. They are ground dwelling animals that come from Africa. They are considered the second closest relative to humans with 92 percent of their DNA matching humans. Almost all gorillas share the same type of Blood, Type B.

Gorillas knuckle walk to get around. They are mainly vegetarian animals eating fruits and leaves. Due to their diet, they often up with bloated stomachs. Adult males also known as Silverbacks are the largest. Their weight is usually between 300-370 pounds. Females usually weigh about half of that. Their life span is typically between 30-50 years.

Silverbacks are very strong and dominant troop leaders. Each troop usually consist of 15-20 gorillas. They make all decisions for the group. Where to roam, what to eat and when to eat. They lead their groups to safety when needed. If the Silverback is challenged they will first scream. If this does not scare the intruder off the will then proceed to beat on their chest, bare their teeth and then charge at the intruder.

Female gorillas are great mothers. females are able to reproves at the age of 11. They are pregnant about the same time humans are. They typically have 3 babies in their lifetime. Newborn gorillas weigh 4 pounds at birth. baby gorillas learn to crawl around 2 months(much earlier then humans can) and can walk at 9 months. They learn to grasp their mothers fur to be carried around at 4 months. Baby gorillas will drink their mothers milk for 2 1/2 years. They will stay with their mother for 3-4 years. They will then leave their troop and find another one to continue their life span.

Some gorillas have become famous. The most famous Gorilla was recognized about 20 years ago. Her name is KOKO and she lives in California. She is famous because she has been taught sign language. KOKO is 34 years old. Currently has 1,000 word vocabulary. (in American sign language) She can understand more then 2,000 words. She can understand feelings of humans and animals. KOKO has a strong affection for kittens. Numerous photos are with her cuddling with a kitten. KOKO often signs that she wants to have a baby so she can teach it sign language also. She does visits to different places talking to people, and trying to get them to become more friendly to animals. KOKO also loves to watch movies. She has a DVD library stuffed full with adult themes and romantic comedies (with no aggression of any kind). She also likes nature videos. You can often see her sitting in front of her TV watching a movie.