Western Lowland Gorilla

Question 1

What is the scientific name of the Western lowland gorilla?

Answer 1

Gorilla gorilla gorilla.

Question 2

What is the largest group of primates?

Answer 2

Gorillas.

Question 3

Do gorillas have strong teeth?

Answer 3

Yes.

Question 4

What are the only parts of a gorilla’s body that aren’t covered by hair?

Answer 4

Face, ears, hands, and feet.

Question 5

What is the proper name for the enlarged ridge on top of a male gorilla’s cranium?

Answer 5

Saggital crest.

Question 6

What are the four subspecies of gorilla?

Answer 6

Mountain gorilla, eastern lowland gorilla, western lowland gorilla, and the Cross river gorilla.

Question 7

How do Western gorillas differ from eastern gorillas?

Answer 7

Western gorillas have lighter hair, shorter hair, and a narrower face than eastern ones.

Question 8

How tall are male gorillas?

Answer 8

5.5 feet tall

Question 9

How much does a large male gorilla weigh?

Answer 9

450 pounds

Question 10

True or false? After chimpanzees, gorillas are the closest living relative of humans.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

How often do female gorillas go into estrus?

Answer 11

Once a month.

Question 12

What is the gestation period of the gorilla in days?

Answer 12

Around 270 days

Question 13

How old are male gorillas when they are mature?

Answer 13

6 to 10 years

Question 14

How old are female gorillas when they are mature?

Answer 14

6 to 8

Question 15

At what age do male gorillas become silverbacks?

Answer 15

12 to 13

Question 16

How long do mother gorillas hold their young for?

Answer 16

Two months.

Question 17

What will the young gorilla do once its mother stops holding it?

Answer 17

Cling to her back.

Question 18

How old are gorillas when they begin to be independent from their mothers?

Answer 18

Two years.

Question 19

True or false? The western lowland gorilla is the only subspecies of gorilla listed as endangered rather than critical.

Answer 19

False. It is the eastern lowland gorilla.

Question 20

When are young gorillas weaned?

Answer 20

At about three months old.

Question 21

How many years will an average gorilla live?

Answer 21

Wild: 35 years
Captivity: 50 years

Question 22

What is the range and habitat of gorillas?

Answer 22

They are found in western and eastern central Africa in tropical forests.

Question 23

How many different kinds of plants do gorillas eat?

Answer 23

Over 200

Question 24

What do gorillas eat?

Answer 24

Fruits, flowers, shoots, insects, and leaves.

Question 25

What is an average gorilla group comprised of?

Answer 25

1 dominant silverback, multiple females, and their offspring.

Question 26

True or false? There can be multiple males in a gorilla group, provided they are black backs.

Answer 26

True.

Question 27

what is the average group size for gorillas?

Answer 27

Around 10.

Question 28

Why are western gorillas usually smaller than eastern gorillas?

Answer 28

Western gorillas rely more on seasonal fruit, so there is more competition.

Question 29

True or false? Eastern lowland gorillas have the largest home range of all the gorilla species.

Answer 29

False. Western lowland gorillas do, because they need to constantly search for food.

Question 30

Do gorillas spend more time on the ground, or in trees?

Answer 30

Ground.

Question 31

What can cause young gorillas to take to the trees?

Answer 31

Lack of food.

Question 32

What do gorillas build their sleeping nests out of?

Answer 32

Branches and leaves.

Question 33

What is a bai and why do gorillas like them?

Answer 33

A bai is a forested area that has been cleared out by larger herbivores or storms. Gorillas like them because of the fresh vegetation growing there.

Question 34

What will the alpha male gorilla do if challenged?

Answer 34

He will stand up, hoot, throw things, pound his chest, and roar.

Question 35

Are gorillas generally aggressive animals?

Answer 35

No.

Question 36

What does the alarm sound of a gorilla sound like?

Answer 36

A hoot.

Question 37

Do gorillas have opposable thumbs?

Answer 37

Yes.

Question 38

Can gorillas see color?

Answer 38

Yes.

Question 39

True or false? The arm span of a gorilla is taller than their standing height.

Answer 39

True.

Question 40

What is the arm span of a large male gorilla?

Answer 40

8 feet.

Question 41

What is the gorilla's role in its habitat?

Answer 41

It spreads seeds.

Question 42

Why do male gorillas usually give off threatening displays?

Answer 42

It is usually a bluff to allow his group a chance to escape.

Question 43

Why are gorillas often difficult to study?

Answer 43

They are very secretive.

Question 44

True or false? Male gorillas will often babysit so the females can forage without being harassed by their young.

Answer 44

True.

Question 45

What are the main threats to the gorilla?

Answer 45

Bushmeat, poaching, habitat loss, and ebola.

Question 46

Why is forest loss a twofold threat for gorillas?

Answer 46

It destroys habitat and brings in hungry people to hunt gorillas.

Question 47

True or false? In the eight countries where gorillas can be found, there are very strict laws protecting them.

Answer 47

False. The laws are not very strictly enforced.

Question 48

Who was the zoologist that first shed light on the wild behavior of gorillas when he published his book "The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior" in 1963?

Answer 48

George B. Schaller

Question 49

How much of our DNA do we share with gorillas?

Answer 49

Around 99%

Question 50

What is the highest a mountain gorilla can be found?

Answer 50

14,000 feet

Question 51

How long ago did the last common ancestor of us, chimps, and gorillas live?

Answer 51

7 million years.

Question 52

When were all gorillas a single species?

Answer 52

The ice age.

Question 53

How many western lowland gorillas are left?

Answer 53

100,000 in the wild and 4,000 in zoos

Question 54

How many mountain gorillas are left?

Answer 54

About 600

Question 55

Do gorillas have individual fingerprints?

Answer 55

Yes.

Question 56

Why do gorillas rarely drink water?

Answer 56

They get a lot of water from what they eat.

Question 57

What have gorillas been seen using as tools?

Answer 57

They use rocks to crack things and sticks to measure depth.