Behaviour

GORILLA SOUNDS

Gorillas live in the dense rain forest, where group members often can't see each other, that's why sounds play such an important role in communication. Silverback males are uttering most of the sounds, most well known is the chest drumming, which can be heard over a long distance. Most sound expressions are rather low in volume: a grunt, that can be very versatile and probably has many differnt meanings.


Silverback Ziz feeding on bamboo
He pulls bamboo shoots from the ground, peels them and chews them.


Humming and singing
With such sounds, Gorillas show comfort and pleasure, for example when they find especially favoured food.


Belching
This soft grunt is the most usual vocalisation. By belching, the gorillas keep contact to each other and communicate different


Crying
A gorilla baby cries because it wants to drink milk.


Alarm
When a silverback male is alarmed, he emits a characteristic sound.


Play with chuckling
Young gorillas are wrestling.

 


Playing males
Even adult males sometimes engage in playful wrestling, in this case it is Ziz and Pablo.


Chestbeating with hooting
Display of a silverback male.


Coughing
This aggressive vocalisation is emitted to warn conspecifics or to rebuke them.


A conflict in the group
Two females have a dispute, other group members also take part in the conflict and the leading male tries to resolve it.


All sound recordings were taken from the CD Berggorilla-Laute (© Jörg Hess).

 

The impact of Tourist Visits on Mountain Gorilla Behaviour and Social Cohesion

Gorilla tourism has played a pivotal role in not only fostering the recovery of the endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) but also…

[details]

Mountain Gorilla Population Growth

New research from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund analyses more than 50 years of demographic data to examine factors influencing variability in the…

[details]

Behavioural Flexibility and Foraging Strategies of Wild Western Gorillas

Tropical rainforests are characterized by seasonal fluctuations in fruit availability with important inter-annual variations in tree productivity.…

[details]

Interspecific Interactions between Sympatric Apes

Gorillas live sympatrically with chimpanzees in most of their distribution area, but there are only a few sites where both species have been…

[details]

As Temperatures Increase, Mountain Gorillas get Thirstier

Climate change is in the media on a daily basis, but the focus is often on arid ecosystems, while we rarely think about its impact on animals living…

[details]

Multilevel Societies in Apes?

"Social system” is an umbrella term that encapsulates the social organisation (size and demographic composition of a social group), social structure…

[details]

Lethal Coalitionary Attacks of Chimpanzees on Gorillas in Loango National Park, Gabon

In 2019, in Loango National Park, Gabon, we observed two lethal coalitionary attacks by chimpanzees on gorillas, with each attack lasting approximatly…

[details]

Motherless Gorillas Beat the Odds

Researchers at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund have used more than 50 years of data from Rwanda to discover how maternal loss influences young gorillas'…

[details]

Increased Gorilla Density May Lead to Increased Aggression

The number of mountain gorillas on the Virunga Volcanoes has increased continuously for four decades now, as was shown during the last censuses. The…

[details]

Why Are We Still Studying Gorillas? The Value of Long-Term Research of Bwindi Gorillas

A few years ago, when I was well into my now 30-year career studying gorillas, my father asked me, 'Don't we know enough about gorillas by now?'…

[details]

Reactions of Wild Great Apes to Camera-trap Devices

Camera trapping has become a predominant method for wildlife monitoring (Burton et al. 2015; Steenweg et al. 2017), including primates (Gerber et al.…

[details]

Stay or leave? Female Reproductive Costs in Western Gorillas

Western gorillas live in social groups that consist of one silverback, several females and immature offspring. Females rely on the silverback who,…

[details]

Secrets of Western Lowland Gorilla Highly Social Behaviour Revealed

A recent study unveils some of the enigmas associated with the social behaviour of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) from the…

[details]

Give Me Your Dung And I Will Tell You Who You Are

In many primate species individuals coordinate their activities, share space and form groups. But how do groups form, how long can they exist and how…

[details]

The Impact of Neighbours on Bwindi Gorillas' Spacing Patterns

Finding food and mates is vital for all animals, so that they can grow, maintain metabolic functions, and reproduce. The way animals use their…

[details]

Education Efforts Prevent a "Blackback" Cross River Gorilla from Being Killed

Recording a scene of the drama for My Gorilla - My Community (© WCS Nigeria)

In November 2017, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) received a report of a lone male Cross River gorilla sighted near two Nigerian villages (Ofambe…

[details]

Silverback Sagas: Dominance Struggles Among Male Gorillas

When powerful silverbacks jostle for dominance within a group, they can sustain very serious injuries with their long canine teeth. Over the last 30…

[details]

Variation in Gorilla Behaviour - and Culture?

Culture is a large part of what makes us human. However, we are not the only species that exhibits culture. Culture in non-human animals, defined as…

[details]

The Dream of the Forest

Chisato Abe's exhibition of paintings of gorillas called "The Dream of Forest" was held at the Art Gallery located in the newly opened mega-department…

[details]

Gorilla Nest Types in Kahuzi-Biega

All species of great apes construct night nests; sometimes in trees and sometimes on the ground. This article is based on daily long-term observations…

[details]

First Twins Born to Habituated Western Lowland Gorillas

At the end of January 2016 the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas complex in the Central African Republic recorded the first ever western lowland gorilla…

[details]

Feeding Competition in Female Bwindi Mountain Gorillas

All animals - including humans - must eat to survive. The energy derived from food is necessary to sustain basic metabolic and muscle functions,…

[details]

Gorilla Group Formation and Dynamics

Gorillas spend the major part of their life in small social groups led by a mature silverback male. Only young blackback males and mature silverback…

[details]

Two Silverbacks Die in Rwanda

The 21-year-old silverback male Umushikirano (Rano), leader of Titus group in Volcanoes National Park, was found dead on July 28, 2014 by trackers.…

[details]

Geriatric Gorillas

[Translate to Englisch:] Colo

December 22, 1956, was a historic day for the zoological world as we welcomed the first successful zoo gorilla birth - a female, eventually named Colo…

[details]

Tree Nesting in Mawambi Hills Gorillas

Mawambi is a 43 km² lowland forest site, also known as Takpe/Awuri, located to the southeast of the Takamanda National Park in Cameroon. The Ma­wambi…

[details]

Changing Ecological Conditions

[Translate to EN:] Cyril Grüter auf dem Gipfel

The mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcano Massif have been the subject of intense research and conservation efforts by the Karisoke Research Center…

[details]

Response to Oil Prospecting in Gabon

A hole for the dynamite is prepared. (© Luisa Rabanal)

As the world's oil reserves continue to decline, interest from major petroleum companies in the largely unexploited reserves of African oil increases.…

[details]

Human Impact on Gorilla Behaviour

Leanne Van der Weyde viewing the gorillas (© Michelle Klailova)

Western lowland gorilla tourism exists on a considerably smaller scale than that of the high profile mountain gorillas. Yet the successful habituation…

[details]

Western Gorilla Life History

Side profiles of gorillas of different life-history classes. The two photos in each row present a typical example of the life-history classes used in this study (from top: infang, juvenile, subadult, blackback, young silverback and adult female/adult silverback (© Thomas Breuer)

Gorillas are known among the great apes for their fast life history patterns. In <link internal-link>zoos it is common for female gorillas to give birth before reaching…

[details]

Moukalaba-Doudou

The silverback Papa Gentil in Group Gentil (Sept. 2007) (© Chieko Ando)

Since 1999, a long-term survey of gorillas and chimpanzees has been conducted by Kyoto University in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. The…

[details]

Western Gorilla Tourism

Silverback activity budget by human group type (© Chloe Hodgkinson)

Following the widely perceived success of mountain gorilla tourism, there has been increasing interest in developing tourism based on the observation…

[details]

First Observation of the Birth of a Western Gorilla in the Wild

Mowane riding on Malui’s back (© Kate Bracewell)

On the 4th December 2007, staff of the Dzanga-Sangha's Primate Habituation Programme (PHP) witnessed the birth of a new gorilla infant into the…

[details]

Conservation of Gorillas in Mbeli Bai

Cave Dwelling Gorillas

News from Kahuzi-Biega 2005

Another Twin Birth in Kahuzi-Biega

Infanticides in Kahuzi-Biega