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| Alpha's "George Gorilla" |
Happy Sunday Oct 9 2011 Everyone!
Alpha's Featured Character Today is:
"George Gorilla"
And here are a few interesting Gorilla facts:
Gorillas are the largest living primates,
(one who is first in authority or a group leader). A mature male gorilla can be over 6 feet tall and weigh 300 to 500 pounds. He can spread his arms 8 feet across and is as strong as 4 to 8 strong men. Adult female gorillas are about half the size of the males.
Like humans, gorillas have two legs and two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, small ears on the side of the head, forward-looking eyes and 32 teeth. Unlike us, their arms are longer and more muscular than their legs, and their big toes look like thumbs. Their bodies are covered by thick dark hair, except on the face, chest, underarms, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. An adult male gorillas becomes a "silverback" at about age 15 when he is full grown and the hair on his back turns silvery-gray.
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 usually to do the famous "chestslap." Gorillas do not beat their chests with their fists but with open cupped hands, making the familiar loud sound which can indicate aggression or excitement.
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. Females mature at 10 to 12 years and males at 11 to 13 years. Young gorillas must learn from their group how to find food, make nests, take care of babies and get along with other gorillas.
Gorillas communicate or talk with each other by using gestures, body postures, facial expressions, vocal sounds, chestslaps, drumming and odors. Although they cannot make the sounds of human speech, gorillas are capable of understanding spoken languages and they can learn to communicate in sign language.
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.
A typical gorilla family usually consist of one silverback, the strongest male and the undisputed leader; one immature male between 8 and 13 years old; three or four adult females, who ordinarily stay with the silverback for life; and three to six youngsters under 8 years old. Some groups are larger or smaller than this, and males sometimes travel alone or form bachelor groups.
Gorillas sleep about 13 hours each night and rest for several hours at midday. They 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.
There are three types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain gorillas. The names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Koko and Michael, and most zoo gorillas, are Western Lowland gorillas.
Okay, that is pretty interesting stuff!! For more info about Gorillas you can visit your nearest library or contact us and we'll be glad to give you more information!!
"Have Fun Learning Boys & Girls"
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