Gorilla trivia quiz: a roundup of fun facts!

leopard

Leopards are the only natural predators of gorillas. While they mainly target young gorillas, their remarkable physical abilities can also make them a threat to adult gorillas.

about 250 days

A gorilla’s gestation period is said to be about 250 days. This is shorter than humans, whose gestation is said to be about 280 days, but it is considered relatively long in the natural world.

Western lowland gorilla

Many of the gorillas kept in Japanese zoos are Western lowland gorillas. Western lowland gorillas live in Central Africa, where they are most commonly found in forests and lowland areas. They are classified as an endangered species.

Silverback

The phenomenon in which the hair on the back of a mature male gorilla turns gray is called a silverback. This gray hair is regarded as a symbol of maturity and a dominant status.

the year 1954

In 1954, the arrival of the first gorilla at a Japanese zoo was an exceptionally rare event for the time. Since then, gorillas have become one of the symbols of zoos in Japan and animals that attract great interest and attention from visitors. This event served as an important catalyst in the history of Japanese zoos, and it heightened awareness of wildlife conservation and research.

Gorilla gorilla gorilla

The scientific name of the western lowland gorilla is Gorilla gorilla gorilla. Scientific names of animals are expressed with three words—genus, species, and subspecies—and the western lowland gorilla was designated as Gorilla gorilla gorilla. Gorilla beringei beringei is the mountain gorilla, and Gorilla beringei graueri is the eastern lowland gorilla.

knuckle-walking

Great apes such as gorillas and chimpanzees walk on all fours using a distinctive gait known as knuckle-walking. The term comes from the way they place their knuckles on the ground to support their forelimbs as they move. In Japanese, this is called shihai-hokō (literally, “dorsal-finger walking”).