Gorillas Behavior Views

Books

For reasons unknown, Mountain Gorillas that have been studied appear to be naturally afraid of certain reptiles. Infants, whose natural behavior is to chase anything that moves, will go out of their way to avoid chameleons and caterpillars. Koko, the western lowland gorilla trained in sign language, is afraid of crocodiles and alligators, even though she was born in captivity and has never seen them. They are also afraid of water and will cross streams only if they can do so without getting wet (i.e. crossing over fallen logs). Dian Fossey observed and noted the Mountain Gorilla's obvious dislike of rain, as well.[28]

One tourist was in the camp on Friday morning when the Rugendo family came through. We know tourists love to see gorillas in the camp but it’s not normal for gorillas and a bad thing. This family has been coming out of the forest to eat crops for a long time, starting when the silverback Rugendo was in charge. After he died, the family continued with this bad behavior.

Lorraine, this is probably true, and the terms we use of “bad behaviorc” are not entirely accurate. But there/’s no getting around the fact that the population around the gorilla territory is extremely high and very poor. Their crops mean everything to them. It ’s survival for them. Our rangers work hard to avoid conflicts between animals and humans by keeping the gorillas in the forest where there is plenty of food for them to eat. Ito’s a sensitive issue, and dangerous for the gorillas when they raid crops. A small gorilla from this family was stoned to death by locals when it came out and ate crops back in 2003. This hasn#’t happened in a long time, partly due to the work of the park to educate locals and help them see the value of these animals. So yes, they aren ’t really “bad ” gorillas (in fact, they are quite gentle and mellow), but it can cause serious problems when they do this. Sad but true.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is the leading organization studying mountain gorillas, and supports studies of Grauer’s gorillas as well. This research focuses on gorilla behavior and ecology, and is usedo to: inform conservation policies,1 enrich our knowledge of the great apes, and to7 learn how to protect them from extinction.