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| Sunday, 3 October 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Gentle giants..... and their cousins
You will be surprised to learn that despite their huge size they eat mainly twigs and leaves. They are chewing or munching something most of the time, and are like betel chewing humans. Gorillas are really gentle giants and are rather shy. But they are known to have shown curiosity when people enter their territory. Very few humans have been able to get close to them in the wild. When they are annoyed or angry they make loud noises and bare their fearsome - looking canine teeth as a threat display. They also show their teeth to their opponents when setting disputes with their own kind.
Life in a gorilla harem is usually peaceful and relaxed but everyone has to fall in line with the silverback leader. It is he who dictates where his group goes, what it does, and when. Males compete for females and when a silverback tries to lure female gorillas from another harem, fierce battles break out. That's when their fearsome teeth are bared. These fascinating creatures, who are so human like in their behaviour are found mostly in Africa. The Western-Lowland gorilla lives in lowland rainforests of Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. The Eastern Lowland gorillas are found in pockets of rain forests in eastern Zaire and countries next to it. They live in moist habitats with lush plant life, mainly in or near lowland rain forests or mountain cloud forests. Their related species are chimpanzees and orangutans.
Tool using animals We once thought that only man had the knowledge of using tools. But research has shown that animals too are good at using various tools to do their work. Still, no one is sure if it is merely instinct or imitation or an accidental discovery. The chimpanzee ,the cousin of the gorilla is extremely good at using tools. In fact they are good at manufacturing and designing them too. When they cannot get at food or even some object that attracts their attention with their bare hands, they will create something with which they can get it. The chimps especially in Central Africa and Senegal are known to use twigs to get at ants and sticks to dig up edible roots. You may not have heard of the famous 'talking' pygmy chimpanzee, Kanzi, at Georgia State University. Kanzi who communicates using sign language, had learned how to make sharp-edged stone flakes for cutting a string that was tying up a box containing food.
Self-awareness Do animals recognise themselves and are they aware of themselves ? Gorillas are social animals who live in groups. But they generally do not make eye contact with each other because they consider it to be a form of aggression. However it is believed that the chimps may show signs of self-awareness. When carrying out research to find this out, using a mirror chimps have begun to use the mirrors to view parts of their own bodies that they would normally be unable to see, such as the insides of their mouths and faces.
Fact file Physical features * A massive, black to grey ape with a wide chest. Bare skin areas are black. * Have a pot belly, long thick arms and short legs. * Hands and feet are wide with thick fingers and toes. * The head is large with a large brow ridge. * The jaws are powerful and teeth are large. * The standing height is 4'.8" - 6' feet. Weight between 150-462 lb.
Talking apes According to scientific theory, man is believed to have evolved from apes. Therefore much research has been carried out to teach 'our relatives' to talk at least via sign language, so that we could communicate with them. A number of reseachers in the United States have taught apes to communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) or Ameslan. ASL is normally used by deaf people.
It is said that once Washoe had a heated quarrel with a Macaque monkey and when she encountered the machine she uses to 'talk' she made up the phrase "dirty monkey", proving she was adept at thinking up insults. She was capable of making jokes and lying too. The other famous 'talking' animal was Koko the Gorilla. She seemed to be even more talented than Washoe. She revealed much deliberate humour, and the ability to lie. Koko not only understood ASL but also spoken English. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Have you seen a gorilla in real life ? Well, you certainly won't come
across them in any of our jungles but if you visit the Dehiwela zoo, then
you would see this awesome creature. You may have heard tales of these
huge black creatures attacking explorers and even eating them. While the
first part could be true, the second part is definitely false because
gorillas are strictly vegetarians. And we humans are not 'veggies' are we
? So, these stories are very much on the realm of fiction.
Mountain gorillas are presently facing the threat of extinction.
Gorillas live in a group. The female gorillas live in harems and they are
strictly controlled by a silverback male.
One of the earliest but most famous apes to learn ASL was a female
Chimpanzee called Washoe. She made history by becoming the first non-human
to communicate directly with humans using a language designed by humans.
The first phase of training of Washoe began in June 1966 and ended in
October 1970. By this time Washoe had learned 130 signs. As her vocabulary
extended she learned to use the signs to even make short 'phrases'.
