Quotes About Gorillas

It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.

What's your job occupation? I am a zookeeper teaching sign language to blind Gorillas.

As I started to research gorillas, I began to understand that they're all totally individual and idiosyncratic, and they have their own personalities.

Gorillas have a belch vocalization, which is sort of like, 'I'm OK, you're OK.' They do a pig grunt, which is reprimanding. They sing, they laugh, and they hoot, which grows into a chest-beating display.

Gorillas are almost altruistic in nature. There's very little if any 'me-itis.' When I get back to civilization I'm always appalled by 'me, me, me.'

There was no way that I could explain to dogs, friends, or parents my compelling need to return to Africa to launch a long-term study of the gorillas.

Much later I would see this kind of behavior with gorillas in captivity. They had nervous tics similar, if not identical, to mine: hair plucking, picking at scabs, scratching, rocking, chewing on themselves, and other repetitive and self-stimulating behaviors. One gorilla spun in tight, fast circles. Another bobbed her head up and down.

La distance biologique entre un chimpanzé sur son île du Parc zoologique de Paris et l'enfant qui le découvre, émerveillé, est bien plus courte que celle qui sépare le chimpanzé des macaques et des babouins qui s'agitent dans leur enclos, de l'autre côté de l'allée. Si le zoo hébergeait encore des gorilles, aux heures d'ouverture les plus proches parents seraient rassemblés : chimpanzés, gorilles et visiteurs.

La divergence entre l'Homme et les Chimpanzés, ou entre l'Homme et le couple Chimpanzé-Gorille, ne date que de 7 millions d'années environ

Gorillas are the largest of the great apes. A mature male may be six feet tall and weigh 400 pounds or more; his enormous arms can span eight feet.

I think what's going on with gorillas is pretty bad. The fact is that you can buy gorilla meat in London any day you want it.

There was no way that I could explain to dogs, friends, or parents my compelling need to return to Africa to launch a long-term study of the gorillas. Some may call it destiny and others may call it dismaying. I call the sudden turn of events in my life fortuitous.

Zookeepers move the food around each day so the gorillas don't get bored. They turn it into an Easter-egg hunt. The gorillas need challenges. The lack of one makes 'em go nuts. We need someone to hide our food," I explain.

Gorillas are still wild creatures. That's made very clear when you observe them in nature. They charge and perform other displays that are terrifying by design. But they don't attack unless they feel threatened.

Gorillas may seem terrifying because of their bodies, but they are really magnificent and very gentle.

Our social life is literally primal, in the sense that chimpanzees and gorillas, our closest relatives among the primates, are also social.

As for bad genetics, well, heart disease happens to be the number one killer of male gorillas in captivity. Heart disease is also the number one killer of male humans in civilization. Median life expectancy for male gorillas in zoos is thirty-one years, so Mokolo's age of twenty-two roughly corresponds to a man in his fifties. While heart disease may be common at this age, there's nothing inevitable about a middle-aged man—or gorilla—dying from a heart attack.

Lowland gorillas have declined even faster;

Gorillas are in danger of being wiped out by the Ebola virus. I feel like we have limited time to get to know them and understand them and they're going to disappear - that's terrifically sad. Wouldn't it be great if we could stop that?

Not only was it necessary to get the gorillas accustomed to the bluejeaned creature who had become a part of their daily lives, it was also very necessary for me to know and recognize the particular animals of each group as the amazing individuals they were.

Q: Why do gorillas have big nostrils? A: Because they have big fingers.

If mountain gorillas are to survive and propagate, far more active conservation measures urgently need to be undertaken. The question remains, is it already too late?

Mountain gorillas live together in families. The leader of the family is a large male called a "silverback" because he has silver fur on his back and shoulders. Gorillas do not hunt other animals. They mainly eat the plant growth of the forest. They are known to be shy and gentle giants.

Golden like the sun, and twice the size of gorillas. They have manes of black fur, and tails that sting. And burning red eyes, and long pointed tusks!