Gorilla Facts
What makes gorillas different from monkeys?
The difference between a gorilla, which is a great ape, and a monkey is very simple. An ape doesn't have a tail, therefore a gorilla doesn't have a tail. And thats it, simple as that.
How similar are gorillas to humans?
How similar gorillas are to humans depends on what type of ape you're looking at. If you're looking at a gorilla, it's around 98% similar to humans genetically. But then the chimpanzees are even closer to humans being 99% similar to human beings.
Where did the gorillas you look after come from?
One of the gorillas we've got here is actually very important, a dramatically important animal, and that's Bobby our silverback, because he was actually born in the wild. It's important to stress that it's strictly illegal to take gorillas or indeed any animals from the wild and put them in a zoo. But Bobby the gorilla was actually taken illegally from the wild as a youngster by poachers and sold to an Italian circus where he lived for the first few years of his life very sadly. But he was then rescued by the Italian zoo and has eventually made his way over here to ZSL London Zoo where he's doing really, really well. But generally speaking all zoo gorillas are born in captivity, and the other two gorillas we have here were indeed born in captivity.
Can you introduce your gorillas?
In introducing my gorillas I'll start with Bobby, our resident silverback. He's the big 175 kilo male. He's 23 years old and he came to us from Bristol zoo, and before Bristol zoo he was in Rome zoo. He's a lovely, lovely gorilla, a big gentle giant really. Then we've got the two female gorillas. FirstlyZaire, she's a 32-year-old female gorilla. She's quite a big girl for a female gorilla as she weighs around 130 kilos, which is really the absolute limit you tend to find for female gorillas. She is a very headstrong gorilla but a lovely girl all the same. And finally Effie, the newly-arrived female that we got recently from Leibzig zoo. She's a 14-year-old gorilla and we're hoping that she'll be mating with Bobby soon.
How heavy are gorillas?
Gorilla weights vary. A fully grown male gorilla can weigh anything from about 165 kilos up to 225 kilos, so they can be enormous animals. Our silverback Bobby is 175 kilos. With the female gorillas again it's quite a large range. It can be anything from around 75 kilos with the maximum of up to about 120 kilos. So with the two female gorillas, Zaire is at the top end of the range as she's about 130 kilos, then Effie is at the other end of the range. She's a very svelte 83 kilos gorilla.
How strong are gorillas?
It's an interesting question to ask how strong is a gorilla, and often people want to know. The reality is that actually no one knows how strong a gorilla is, because you can't take a gorilla down to your local gym, or if you did it would be at your own and the other gym members peril. We don't know, but scientists estimate gorillas to be about ten times stronger than a fully grown man. And certainly, some of the things I've seen gorillas do, I'm pretty sure that ten times stronger is going to be a figure which is probably fairly correct. Probably the best way for me to explain why I think that gorillas are so incredibly strong is, for example, when I'm moving things around inside the gorillas enclosure. There might be very large logs which I'm literally unable to move. So I might call a couple of other keepers over, and between the three of us, we will slowly manhandle it, perhaps a few inches across the enclosure. Bobby then will come in and just with one hand will be able to swipe that same log a good few feet without any effort. So gorillas are awesomely strong. But they are very, very gentle animals, so they rarely show their full strength. So I think if an animal like a gorilla was really in a fit of rage, then their strength could be even higher. But, as I say, we dont actually know exactly how strong they could be.
What do gorillas eat?
Gorillas are entirely herbivorous, that means they eat only vegetation in the wild. Here in the zoo we replicate that as close as possible by providing the gorillas with a lot of what's called growls, which is basically very leafy branches. But also we give the gorillas a very wide range of vegetables, as well as some fruits, but mainly vegetables. So for example, each of the gorillas here will eat between four and five kilograms of greens per day. We keep the fruit content of their diet to a fair minimum, because gorillas, like humans, will tend to put on weight. So, at the moment, the gorillas just get the one banana each per day. But if we feel the gorillas are looking a bit more athletic at times then we'll certainly give them a bit more fruit. But generally speaking its a very, very controlled diet. We use specialist software called zootrition, which you should think of being a form of zoo nutrition, hence the word zootrition. It's a specific software program that will tell us exactly how many calories are in a particular type of food and then we'll formulate a diet down to the actual gram. So its' very healthy for the gorillas here at ZSL Zoo.
What do gorillas eat in the wild?
In the wild, a gorilla will eat vast volumes of vegetation. That would be anything from something like the Aframomum, which is a form of wild ginger, through to fruits. Gorillas eat a lot of fruits, like in cental Africa the Deutarium fruit which is a kind of cucumber smelling fruit. It actually doesn't taste that nice, it's not like eating an apple or a banana, but the gorillas certainly like it. Gorillas will forage all day and they'll eat pretty much all of their waking hours when they're not playing or just relaxing because gorillas are generally quite greedy animals and they will just constantly eat through the day. Here in the ZSL London zoo we replicate that by providing the gorillas with small amounts of food on a regular basis.
Are gorillas clean animals?
Gorillas are fairly clean. They're certainly quite smelly, and if you get up close to a gorilla you'll certainly know it. Gorillas have got quite a pungent smell. But in terms of personal hygiene, they certainly don't wash themselves. Although, having said that, what we have seen in captivity here at London Zoo, is that the gorillas will sometimes actually wash their faces and their armpits on a very hot day with water. They have a waterfall on their island, and the gorillas will use that water. So there is an element of hygiene there, but that's not done every day by them.
Why do gorillas groom each other?
The grooming that takes place between gorillas is a very, very important part of their very, very complex social structures. It's a way that the gorillas are able to be very relaxed with each other. The dominant male gorilla will only allow certain females to groom him, and he will only choose to groom other females gorillas. They won't just all groom randomly. It's quite a particular sort of concept, if you like, within their social hierarchies. But actually here at the zoo, we find that once a gorilla accepts a zookeeper, and accepts the trust of a zookeeper, it's possible for the keepers themselves to actually groom the arm of the gorilla, just to build up the relationship over a long period of time.
Do gorillas live in families in the wild?
Gorillas do live in families in the wild. There can be groups of gorillas certainly, you know, easily 20 or more. So families of gorillas would be very common in Central Africa where they're found. And in captivity the gorillas will also live in families.
What's a silver-back?
Our silver back gorilla is so cool because three quarters of his back is covered by a stunning, silvery-gray coat. That gorillas is really something amazing to see.
Do all males become silver-backs?
No, all male gorillas will not become silver backs. A younger male gorilla will start out as what's called a black-back, so just a black gorilla. But if that gorilla doesn't find himself a dominant position in a group, then actually he won't get a silver back.
