3. Gorillas normally walk by putting their feet flat and walking on the knuckles of their hands. They can stand upright, but they don't do it very often. When they do, it is often to "chestslap," making their famous loud sound which can indicate aggression or excitement.

4. Gorillas can live more than 50 years. Newborn gorillas are very small, weighing only about 4 1/2 pounds. They are helpless at birth and depend on their mothers for at least 3 years, and they usually stay in their family group as they grow up.

5. Gorillas are very intelligent, and they share with us a full range of emotions: love, hate, fear, grief, joy, greed, generosity, pride, shame, empathy, and jealousy. They laugh when they are tickled and cry when they are sad or hurt. Gorillas cry with sounds, not tears.

6. Gorillas build new sleeping nests every night by bending nearby plants into a springy platform, usually on the ground or in low trees. When not resting they spend most of their time looking for food and eating it. They eat mostly plant foods: leaves, shoots, fruits, bulbs, bark, vines and nettles. They also eat ants, termites, grubs, worms and insect larvae.


8. Gorillas are shy and peaceful. The only natural enemy of gorillas has always been human beings. Gorillas are still hunted for meat and trophies and are also caught in traps set for other animals. In the past, whenever an infant gorilla was captured for a zoo, the mother and often the other members of the family were killed as they defended the baby. Now the most serious threat to free-living gorillas is the human population explosion. As more and more people take over the land for agriculture, logging and other development, the gorillas have nowhere left to go.

9. Many different organizations are working in Africa to protect the gorillas, including:

The Dian Fossey Gorilla

Fund Fauna and Flora International

African Wildlife Foundation

Wildlife Conservation Society

10. The African conservationists who are saving the gorillas in their own countries are leading the way in changing attitudes and behavior towards gorillas and conservation, to ensure habitats and species can continue to survive.