![]() However, more research is needed to confirm that theory. That silverback stood 1.95m tall, measured 1.98m around the chest, had a 2.7m armspan and weighed an impressive 219kg. The researchers also found a lot of variation among males in both the number and duration of the chest beats, suggesting that like human fingerprints, they may have individual signatures. The world’s largest gorilla in the wild weighed 267kg when it was shot in Cameroon, but it wasn’t as tall as another silverback gorilla that was shot in Congo in 1938. Females, however, are not locked into one group and may wander among social groups, thereby presenting females with the option to choose mates. I dont think this gorilla had bad intent. Not surprisingly, females most likely use the sound to determine whether this is a good candidate for a mate.īecause gorillas live in predominantly one-male, multifemale social groups there's high male-to-male competition. Silverbacks have been known to take orphaned baby gorillas ( whose mother has been killed) and care for them closely in their troop, seeing to it that the baby is well cared for and protected, its pretty amazing actually. ![]() King Kong aside, it seems the beating conveys information about body size, with larger males having a higher success rate in mating, as well as social dominance.Īlthough intense contact aggression between males is infrequent, rival males use the information to determine the competitive ability of the chest beater and whether to initiate, escalate or retreat from aggressive behaviors with the other. The scientists found that larger males emitted chest beats with lower peak frequencies than the smaller males. Researchers came to this conclusion while using a technique called photogrammetry, which allowed them to measure body size of adult male wild mountain gorillas monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda in a noninvasive way. It's also been observed in infants as young as 1-year-old during social play. However, younger subordinate males may also chest beat to practice and gain social feedback. With both acoustic and visual elements, this long-distance signal is most commonly performed by adult males (silverbacks) and can be heard more than 0.62 miles (1 kilometer) away. Scientists believe gorillas use these chest beats as a nonvocal communication to both attract females and intimidate potential rivals. No doubt you've seen this posturing and behavior - a male gorilla standing on two feet and using his cupped hands - not fists - in an alternating pattern beating his pecs. ![]()
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