Gorillas By Jaideep

May 15, 2012Renzulli Independent ProjectFrazer Elementary

Introduction

Today I would like to inform you about gorillas.

I will talk about:

• Types of gorillas

• Diet & Behavior

• Reproduction

• Gorilla Fun

• Celebrity Gorillas

• Endangered Species

At the end there will be a quiz, so pay attention!

Before now there were three types of gorillas, the mountain gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla, and the western lowland gorilla. Recently there has been a change stating there are two species of gorillas, and four subspecies:

• Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) Specieso Western Lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Subspecieso Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) Subspecies

• Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) Specieso Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) Subspecieso Eastern Lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei gruaen) Subspecies

All of these live in Africa

Types of Gorillas

Habitat

Map of Africa where gorillas are located

Map courtesy of Wikipedia

Western gorillas Eastern gorillas

A Day at the Cleveland Zoo

I also went to the Cleveland Zoo to get more info on gorillas.

What do gorillas eat?

Gorillas eat a variety of foods. Their diet includes:

• Fruits

• Roots

• Leaves

• Bamboo shoots

• Tree bark

• Bugs

So they are mainly vegetarians. These foods can be found in the western and eastern parts of Africa.

Watch a gorilla eating

Where do gorillas sleep?

Gorillas sleep on the ground. They usually build a nest out of the branches they find on the ground. The pack leader decides when they sleep. The pack leader also decides where they rest. The gorilla pack leaves their nest when they are done sleeping and they don't clean it up!

Gorillas come in groups of 6 to about 30. There is one pack leader, some females carrying the babies, and juvenile males. The pack leader is a mature gorilla male that has a silver stripe down its back. A gorilla group is called a troup.

Groups

Reproduction

The gorillas gestation period (the time it takes for the infant to form in the mother's abdomen) is about 9 months just like humans. The same gorilla can become pregnant several times in her life. The mother has its first baby when it is about 6-7 years old.

Children

Gorillas have 1 child at a time. There is rarely a time when a mother has twins or multiple babies at once. An average newborn gorilla weighs 4 to 10 pounds and is 17-21 inches long. They are dependent on the mother until they are about 6 months old.

Lifespan

Gorillas can get up to 40 years old, and the record is 55 years by Colo at the Columbus Zoo, but some die in the first 3 years because of diseases. These diseases that kill are a result of the gorillas going to the bathroom in their nests.

Predator

The gorilla doesn't really have many predators, except for wild cats such as:

• Jaguars• Cheetahs• Leopards• Lions

For protection gorillas use "weapons" they create out of sticks that they find. The gorillas don't have to worry much, because gorillas don't normally meet these predators in the wild.

Gorilla FunGorillas also like to have fun! Watch this video of a gorilla

dancing! Dance, gorilla, dance!

Koko the talking gorillaKoko is a female gorilla who learned American sign language. She was born in the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. At the age of three, Koko got a gorilla friend named Michael who also learned sign language. Koko now lives with Francine "Penny" Patterson in Woodside, California. Penny has recently been trying to find Koko and Michael a new home in the forests of Maui, Hawaii.

Watch this video of Koko.

Koko - The Talking GorillaWatch this video of Koko speaking to us

about endangered gorillas.

Gorillas are endangered

Gorillas are endangered because their habitats are getting cut down in Africa. There are only a few thousand left. All you have to do to help is plant more trees for their home.

Help protect the gorillas!

Gorilla pop quiz1. What do gorillas eat?

Answer: Fruits, Roots, Leaves, Bamboo shoots, Tree bark, and Bugs

2. Who is the gorilla(s) that learned sign language?

Answer: Koko and Michael

3. Are gorillas endangered?

Answer: Yes, there are only a few thousand left in their natural habitats of Africa

4. What is the gorillas predator(s)?

Answer: Wild Cats such as Jaguars, Cheetahs, Leopards and Lions

5. How old is the mother when she has her first baby?

Answer: 6 to 7 years old

6. How many gorillas are in a troup?

Answer: 6 to 30 gorillas

Wrap-up

SourcesEncyclopediaSusman, Randall L. "Gorilla." World Book Student. World Book, 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012.

BooksPatterson, Francine. Koko's Story, 1987

Wootton, Anthony. Gorillas, 1981

Web sitesWikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla

Youtube - multiple videos

The Gorilla Foundation: http://www.koko.org/index.php

OthersCleveland Metropolitan Zoo - Displays