Writing Assignment #1: Gorilla
Growing up, there was one movie that was constantly in the DVR. That movie was Tarzan. Watching it often as I came home from daycare, it was one of the few films my parents bought for my brothers and I to watch. I was fascinated by the idea of a man living with what I thought of at the time as monkeys. Much time has passed since then, and as I grew older, my perspective changed on what I once thought were noble beasts. After watching films like King Kong and reading of villainous primate masterminds in comic books, I idolized them for a different reason, and respected them for their strength and savagery. However, as my views again changed, I realized that these animals are extremely intelligent, nurturing, and …show more content…
Classified as one of the Great Apes, gorillas are anthropoids. Anthropoids share a common ancestor with Prosimians, of which they split from close to 50 million years ago (Weiss, 2015). Gorillas are believed to have diverged from anthropoid lineage around 7 million years ago (Gott and Weir, 2013). Now, within gorillas, there are three sub-groups; the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) and the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei). The focus of this paper, the mountain gorilla, is the largest of the gorillas (and largest overall primate), with the adult males being around 6 feet tall and weighing up to 500 pounds. Females weigh half as much due to high levels of sexual dimorphism, and are shorter. In addition to greater size, what separates the mountain gorilla from the other subspecies is its thick, dark fur (lacking a reddish patch), which is a necessity in their elevated, rainy environment. With half living in the Virunga mountains of central Africa, they are found in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DMR. These areas have recently, and frequently, been embroiled in war, which has contributed to the shrinking of the population, which is endangered. This will be discussed in a later paragraph of the report, while the next paragraph will introduce the social aspect of these …show more content…
One of the most interesting of which is the formation of terrestrial societies of close to 30 apes. Known as troops, they are lead by one dominant male known as a silverback. The silverback, fittingly named after the gray hair found on the fur on his back after he matures, is the only dominant male in the troop consisting of him, the females he mates with, and their young. The silverback is territorial and extremely protective of the troop, and will be the first to confront unknown, potential threats. The offspring of female gorillas remain with them for 8 years, breastfeeding for up to 6 years of age, until leaving to find another troop, or in the case of males, becoming the new silverback. Gorillas are not arboreal, like other primates, and they are foliovores, consuming shoots and leaves, but do on occasion eat fruits and bugs. They have large crests on their skulls that house temporalis muscles, which aid with chewing (Taylor and Goldsmith, 2003). They have an average lifespan of 35 years in the wild. These are indeed wonderful creatures, full of amazing capabilities, and hold special distinction among other
Growing up, there was one movie that was constantly in the DVR. That movie was Tarzan. Watching it often as I came home from daycare, it was one of the few films my parents bought for my brothers and I to watch. I was fascinated by the idea of a man living with what I thought of at the time as monkeys. Much time has passed since then, and as I grew older, my perspective changed on what I once thought were noble beasts. After watching films like King Kong and reading of villainous primate masterminds in comic books, I idolized them for a different reason, and respected them for their strength and savagery. However, as my views again changed, I realized that these animals are extremely intelligent, nurturing, and …show more content…
Classified as one of the Great Apes, gorillas are anthropoids. Anthropoids share a common ancestor with Prosimians, of which they split from close to 50 million years ago (Weiss, 2015). Gorillas are believed to have diverged from anthropoid lineage around 7 million years ago (Gott and Weir, 2013). Now, within gorillas, there are three sub-groups; the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) and the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei). The focus of this paper, the mountain gorilla, is the largest of the gorillas (and largest overall primate), with the adult males being around 6 feet tall and weighing up to 500 pounds. Females weigh half as much due to high levels of sexual dimorphism, and are shorter. In addition to greater size, what separates the mountain gorilla from the other subspecies is its thick, dark fur (lacking a reddish patch), which is a necessity in their elevated, rainy environment. With half living in the Virunga mountains of central Africa, they are found in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DMR. These areas have recently, and frequently, been embroiled in war, which has contributed to the shrinking of the population, which is endangered. This will be discussed in a later paragraph of the report, while the next paragraph will introduce the social aspect of these …show more content…
One of the most interesting of which is the formation of terrestrial societies of close to 30 apes. Known as troops, they are lead by one dominant male known as a silverback. The silverback, fittingly named after the gray hair found on the fur on his back after he matures, is the only dominant male in the troop consisting of him, the females he mates with, and their young. The silverback is territorial and extremely protective of the troop, and will be the first to confront unknown, potential threats. The offspring of female gorillas remain with them for 8 years, breastfeeding for up to 6 years of age, until leaving to find another troop, or in the case of males, becoming the new silverback. Gorillas are not arboreal, like other primates, and they are foliovores, consuming shoots and leaves, but do on occasion eat fruits and bugs. They have large crests on their skulls that house temporalis muscles, which aid with chewing (Taylor and Goldsmith, 2003). They have an average lifespan of 35 years in the wild. These are indeed wonderful creatures, full of amazing capabilities, and hold special distinction among other