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Endangered Animals - Gorillas

Endangered Animals - Gorillas King Kong pounded his chest a lot and climbed buildings and stepped on cars and terrorized large cities. Is this typical behavior for gorillas? King Kong also had a gentle side and a soft spot in his heart for blonds. Is this typical gorilla behavior?

There are three kinds of gorillas in the world. All of them live in Africa, and all of them are endangered. Visit the following websites and complete the activities to learn more about one of the most endangered mammals in the world.

All About Gorillas
http://www.allaboutnature.com/subjects/apes/gorilla/

  1. What kind of temperment do gorillas have?
  2. Gorillas are covered with long hair all over their body--except for which parts?
  3. What do the noses of gorillas and the fingertips of humans have in common?
  4. In what way are the feet of gorillas more useful than the feet of humans?
  5. Why are adult male gorillas called silverbacks?
  6. What do gorillas eat? About how much does an adult gorilla eat in a day?
  7. Why do they seldom drink water?
  8. What do gorillas use a nest for?
  9. How do scientists who study gorillas estimate how many gorillas are in a particular local population?
  10. Gorillas communicate through vocalizations and gestures. What are some of their vocalizations? What are some of their gestures?
  11. About how long do gorillas live in the wild? About how long do they live in captivity?
  12. Go to Outline Maps and print out a map of Africa. Label the countries where western lowland, eastern lowland, and mountain gorillas live.
  13. About how many babies do female gorillas have in their lifetime? Compare this to how many offspring a mouse or rabbit has in its lifetime and you can see how reproductive habits can affect the endangered status of some animals.
  14. List the 3 species of gorillas in order of their remaining numbers from the greatest to the least.

Gorilla Haven
http://www.gorilla-haven.org/

  1. Under "Kids of All Ages" on the left, select "Fun Facts". A gorilla is a primate. What are characteristics of primates?
  2. What apes are Great Apes?
  3. What apes are Lesser Apes?
  4. What is the difference between an ape and a monkey?
  5. Of the 3 species of gorillas, which ones would you usually see in a zoo?

Mountain Gorilla
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/gorilla/gorilla.html

  1. Mountain gorillas live together in social groups. About how many gorillas are in these groups, and who is in charge?
  2. A factor that can contribute to an animal being endangered is how often they give birth to offspring. How often do female mountain gorillas have a baby?
  3. Why are mountain gorillas endangered?
  4. According to this site, about how many mountain gorillas remain in the wild?

Kratt's Creature World
http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/africa/gorilla/index.html

  1. According to this site, what are the greatest threats to mountain gorillas and about how many are left?
  2. What do mountain gorillas spend most of their time doing?

Western Lowland Gorillas
http://www.sfzoo.org/cgi-bin/animals.py?ID=31

  1. Gorillas are gentle, social animals. About how many western lowland gorillas usually live together in groups?
  2. Gorillas are diurnal which means they are active during the daytime. What do they spend most of the day doing?
  3. What do western lowland gorillas eat?
  4. What is unusual about the way that gorillas and chimpanzees use the backs of their fingers?
  5. How does an adult male gorilla communicate aggression?
  6. Who is the boss of western lowland gorilla groups?
  7. Approximately, what is the armspan of a silverback and how strong are they?
  8. A factor that can contribute to an animal being endangered is how often they give birth to offspring. How often does a female western lowland gorilla have a baby?
  9. Where do western lowland gorillas gorillas sleep?
  10. Why are they endangered?
  11. According to this site, about how many western lowland gorillas may there be left in the wild?

Gorilla Haven - Gorilla Jobs
http://www.gorilla-haven.org/ghjobs.htm

  1. If you would like to work with gorillas when you grow up, why is it a good idea to learn to speak French?

Dian Fossey
http://www.gorillafund.org/

  1. Who was Dian Fossey?
  2. What was Karisoke?

Koko
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/koko/

  1. What is Koko the gorilla famous for?
  2. What kind of gorilla is Koko?
  3. This site has an online game that you can play with Koko. You will need the Shockwave plug-in to play. It also has an interactive scrapbook where you can see photos of Koko, and this portion also requires Shockwave.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us