“I am Zitti”: An Autobiography “A primate is a member of a mammal order that includes apes, monkeys, tarsiers and lemurs, the closest relative of humans because they share a common evolutionary descent” (Burnie,2008, para. 1). There are many species of primates, one is apes and the largest of them is Gorilla (Vedder, 2008). My name is Zitti. I am a biologically female Cross river gorilla a subspecies of Western Gorilla (World Wildlife Fund, 2014). Others call me by my scientific name of Gorilla gorilla diehli but my friends call me Zitti which I prefer (World Wildlife Fund Global, 2014). You can call me Zitti, Gorilla gorilla diehli is too long and not unique. I live in Central Africa (Cross River Gorilla, 2014). To be specific “inside the protected areas in the forested mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border” (Nash, 2010, para. 1). Some of my cousins, relatives and friends live in Gabon,
…show more content…
I do not know my exact weight now but females like me grow to an average weight of 90 kg or 200 lb and an average height of 5 ft or 1.5 m and adult males weigh from 140 kg to 180 kg or 310 lb to 400 lb. I menstruate every 28 days and there is no such thing as mating season like those of birds, penguins and etc. In short I can mate any time, any season and whenever I like. I have a life span of 35 to 45 years and in my lifetime I am expected like any other female gorilla to produce three to six offspring with an interval of four years. I walk using both my feet and hand using my knuckles to support my upper body weight also called quadrupedally (Vedder, 2008). My favorite foods are bamboo shoots, fruits and leaves and other stems. By the way I am a vegetarian. But I heard that Western lowland gorillas eat termites and ants. They would even open termites nests to eat the larvae (World Wildlife Fund Global, 2014). I want to try that, for a change. I wonder how those little creature
I do not know my exact weight now but females like me grow to an average weight of 90 kg or 200 lb and an average height of 5 ft or 1.5 m and adult males weigh from 140 kg to 180 kg or 310 lb to 400 lb. I menstruate every 28 days and there is no such thing as mating season like those of birds, penguins and etc. In short I can mate any time, any season and whenever I like. I have a life span of 35 to 45 years and in my lifetime I am expected like any other female gorilla to produce three to six offspring with an interval of four years. I walk using both my feet and hand using my knuckles to support my upper body weight also called quadrupedally (Vedder, 2008). My favorite foods are bamboo shoots, fruits and leaves and other stems. By the way I am a vegetarian. But I heard that Western lowland gorillas eat termites and ants. They would even open termites nests to eat the larvae (World Wildlife Fund Global, 2014). I want to try that, for a change. I wonder how those little creature