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#gorillas — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #gorillas, aggregated by home.social.

  1. 💁🏻‍♀️ ICYMI: 🦍🌿 In 1978, #DavidAttenborough and his team traveled to #Rwanda to film mountain #gorillas for the #BBC series Life on Earth.

    He used belch vocalizations to acknowledge the gorilla family and noted that #gorillas are not aggressive #animals. Attenborough has spent seven decades sharing the natural world with audiences and turns 100 on Friday, May 8.

    👉 Learn more: seethis.tv/post/david-attenbor

    #20thcentury #apes #babies #conservation #family #forest #interview #mountains #nature #history #science #wildlife #ecology #primates #mammals #tksst #video

  2. 🦍🌿 In 1978, #DavidAttenborough and his team traveled to #Rwanda to film mountain #gorillas for the #BBC series Life on Earth.

    He used belch vocalizations to acknowledge the #gorilla family and noted that gorillas are not aggressive #animals. Attenborough spent 7 decades sharing the natural world with audiences and turns 100 on Friday, May 8.

    👉 Learn more: seethis.tv/post/david-attenbor

    #20thcentury #apes #babies #conservation #family #forest #interview #mountains #nature #history #science #wildlife #ecology #primates #mammals #tksst #video

  3. East #Africa's mountain #gorillas have been endangered by habitat loss and poaching.⁣
    ⁣But in some areas, numbers have started to recover - and some of that is down the efforts of conservationists such as Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka.
    ⁣Her solution is to look after the local people who live near the animals' forest habitat as well as the #gorillas themselves

    How #coffee is brewing a mountain #gorilla comeback 🦍 ☕️ youtube.com/watch?v=ZizUbOUNTuA

  4. 🦍💪 While a silverback #gorilla has the power to bend iron bars, even the tiny potto has a grip so strong it’s nearly impossible to move.

    Researchers in #Africa and #SouthAmerica are studying how these different #primates evolved specialized muscles for everything from "one-armed pull-ups" to explosive jumps.

    👉 discoverwildlife.com/mammals/w

    💁🏻‍♀️ Learn more: Ocean-Hopping Primates: How monkeys crossed the Atlantic thekidshouldseethis.com/post/o

    #wildlife #biology #evolution #nature #science #gorillas #chimpanzees #biomechanics #animals #apes #monkeys

  5. Eine neue Studie vergleicht die #Paarungsgewohnheiten von über 30 #Tierarten und zeigt: Mit rund 66 Prozent Vollgeschwistern gelten Menschen als überraschend #monogam – vergleichbar mit #Meerkatzen und #Bibern, aber weit vor #Schimpansen (4 Prozent) oder #Gorillas (6 Prozent).

    An der Spitze steht die kalifornische #Maus mit 100 Prozent. Die Untersuchung unterstreicht, dass Menschen evolutionär zwar in Gruppen leben, aber stabile #Paarbindungen häufig sind.

    bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpvx3e

  6. Support Helps Gorilla and Human Child Resilience

    Young gorillas often suffer horrific events in their childhood: the death of their mother or father due to poachers, kidnapping and rough handling for the illegal pet trade. A study of 250 gorillas throughout their lifespans have found they share a lot of needs with human children. And just like their human cousins, they thrive after adverse childhood events when given the right social and economic supports. Help gorillas and 1000’s of other animals to survive when you go plant-based and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

    Just like human #children 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧, #gorillas 🦍 who suffer #childhood tragedies are able to thrive with #economic and social supports in place. #Research #primatology #primates Help all beings, be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8TQ

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    As a young #gorilla, #Titus 🦍 suffered more tragedy than most #humans do in their lifetimes. A #study found, just like a human #child, he thrived due to good social and economic supports. Learn more #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8TQ

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    Written by Stacy Rosenbaum, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan and Robin Morrison, Postdoctoral Fellow in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    Gorilla and Human Childhood Resilience Tied to Economic and Personal Support

    In 1974, an infant mountain gorilla was born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Researchers named him Titus. As is typical for young gorillas in the wild, Titus spent the first years of his life surrounded by his mother, father and siblings, as well as more distant relatives and unrelated gorillas that made up his social group.

    In 1978, however, tragedy struck. Poachers killed Titus’ father and brother. In the chaos that followed, his younger sister was killed by another gorilla, and his mother and older sister fled the group. Juvenile Titus, who was at a developmental stage similar to that of an 8- or 9-year-old human, experienced more tragedy in his first four years of life than many animals do in a lifetime.

    Titus’ (pictured) father and brother were killed by poachers when he was very young. Then his sister was killed by another gorilla. However, with the right care and supports he managed to overcome this childhood adversity and go on to thrive and live a long life.

    In people, a rough start in life is often associated with significant problems later on. Early life adversity can take a wide variety of forms, including malnutrition, war and abuse. People who experience these kinds of traumas, assuming they survive the initial event, are more likely to suffer health problems and social dysfunction in adulthood and to have shorter life spans. Often, these outcomes trace back at least in part to what public health researchers call health risk behaviors – things like smoking, poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle.

    A lot of bad things can happen to young mountain gorillas in the wild. Image: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    But researchers have documented the same kinds of problems in adulthood in nonhuman animals that experienced early life adversity. For example, female baboons who have the hardest childhoods have life spans that are on average only half as long as their peers that have the easiest. Activities like smoking and unhealthy food choices can’t be the whole story, then, since animals don’t engage in typical human health risk behaviors.

    Given the connection between adverse events while young and poor health later in life, one might expect that Titus’ unlucky early years would predict a short, unhealthy adulthood for him. However, there are interesting hints that things might work differently in mountain gorillas, which are one of humans’ closest living relatives.

    Researchers analyzed decades of observational data to determine how life turned out for young gorillas that had faced adversity. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    Decades of gorilla observations

    As scientists who have spent many years studying wild gorillas, we have observed a wide variety of early life experiences and an equally wide variety of adult health outcomes in these great apes. Unlike other primates, mountain gorillas don’t appear to suffer any long-term negative effects of losing their mothers at an early age, provided that they reach the age at which they are old enough to have finished nursing.

    Losing your mother is only one of many bad things that can happen to a young gorilla, though. We wanted to investigate whether a pattern of resilience was more generalized. If so, could we gather any insight into the fundamental question of how early life experiences can have long-lasting effects?

    To do this, we needed exceptionally detailed long-term data on wild gorillas across their lifetimes. This is no mean feat, given gorillas’ long life spans. Primatologists know that males can survive into their late 30s and females into their mid-40s.

    The best data in the world to conduct such a study comes from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which has been following individual mountain gorillas in Rwanda almost daily for 55 years. We conducted doctoral and postdoctoral research with the Fossey Fund and have collaborated with other scientists there for more than 20 years.

    From their database, which stretches back to 1967, we extracted information on more than 250 gorillas tracked from the day they were born to the day they died or left the study area.

    We used this data to identify six adverse events that gorillas younger than age 6 can endure: maternal loss, paternal loss, extreme violence, social isolation, social instability and sibling competition. These experiences are the gorilla equivalent of some kinds of adversity that are linked with long-term negative effects in humans and other animals.

    Many young gorillas didn’t survive these challenges. This is a strong indication that these experiences were indeed adverse from the perspective of a gorilla.

    Ubufatanye experienced the loss of her mother and father and the disintegration of her family group before the age of 5. Now 20, she has become a successful mother, raising three offspring. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    We were surprised to discover, however, that most of the repercussions of these hardships were confined to early life: animals that survived past the age of 6 did not have the shorter life spans commonly associated with early life adversity in other species.

    In fact, gorillas that experienced three or more forms of adversity actually had better survival outcomes, with a 70% reduction in the risk of death across their adult years. Part of this hardiness, especially for males, may be due to a phenomenon called viability selection: Only the strongest animals survive early adversity, and thus they are also the animals with the longest life spans.

    While viability selection may be part of the story, the patterns in our data strongly suggest that as a species, mountain gorillas are also remarkably resilient to early adversity.

    Where do gorillas get their resilience?

    Although our findings corroborate previous research on maternal loss in gorillas, they contrast with other studies on early adversity in humans and other long-lived mammals. Our study indicates that the negative later-life consequences of early adversity are not universal.

    The absence of this connection in one of our closest relatives suggests there might be protective mechanisms that help build resiliency to early-life knocks. Gorillas may provide valuable clues to understand how early life experiences have such far-reaching effects and how people can potentially overcome them.

    Young gorillas live with their parents as part of larger social groups. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    While there is still much left to explore, we suspect that gorillas’ food-rich habitat and cohesive social groups could underpin their resiliency. When young gorillas lose their mothers, other social group members fill in the companionship hole she leaves behind. Something similar may happen for other types of early adversity as well. A supportive social network combined with plentiful food may help a young gorilla push through challenges.

    This possibility underscores the importance of ensuring that human children who experience early adversity are supported in multiple ways: socially, but also economically, especially since early adversity is particularly prevalent among children living in poverty – itself a form of adversity.

    Titus, pictured here as an adult, survived more adversity before age 4 than many animals confront in a lifetime. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    And what became of Titus? Despite his difficult start in life, Titus went on to lead his group for two decades, siring at least 13 offspring and surviving to his 35th birthday, making him one of the most successful gorillas the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has ever studied.

    Though Titus’ story is only a single anecdote, it turns out that his resilience is not so unusual for a member of his species.

    Written by Stacy Rosenbaum, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan and Robin Morrison, Postdoctoral Fellow in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    ENDS

    Learn about other animals endangered by palm oil and other agriculture

    Global South America S.E. Asia India Africa West Papua & PNG

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    Borneo Forest Dragon Gonocephalus bornensis

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    Orange-breasted Falcon Falco deiroleucus

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    Sunda Clouded Leopard Neofelis diardi 

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    Learn about “sustainable” palm oil greenwashing

    Read more about RSPO greenwashing

    Lying Fake labels Indigenous Land-grabbing Human rights abuses Deforestation Human health hazards

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

    Read more

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    Pledge your support

    #animalBehaviour #AnimalBiodiversityNews #animalCommunication #animalCruelty #animalExtinction #animalIntelligence #animalRights #biodiversity #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #child #childhood #children #deforestation #economic #gorilla #Gorillas #humans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #primates #primatology #research #study #Titus #vegan

  7. #Regenwald.org #Gorillas, #Bonobos, #Okapi - die Demokratische Republik #Kongo ist eines der Länder mit der größten #Artenvielfalt der Welt. Viele Einheimische kämpfen für #Naturschutz und #Menschenrechte. In der Folge werden sie schikaniert und strafrechtlich verfolgt. Im Osten des Kongo haben Rebellen der #M23 die Stadt #Goma eingenommen. regenwald.org/petitionen/1299/

  8. #WALDGespräche: Diesmal geht es quer durch das #Kongo-Becken zu #Gorillas und Bonobos.
    Der mächtige Kongo prägt ein Gebiet von der Größe Westeuropas. Kaum eine Region beherbergt mehr Tier- und Pflanzenarten und speichert mehr Kohlenstoff. Ein Schwergewicht für die #Artenvielfalt und das #Klima
    Wir sprechen über die #Naturschätze und Bedrohungen, stellen unsere Arbeit in der Region vor und diskutieren, was wir alle zum Schutz der #Regenwälder beitragen können.
    regenwald.org/news/13229/zu-go

  9. #WALDGespräche: Diesmal geht es quer durch das #Kongo-Becken zu #Gorillas und Bonobos.
    Der mächtige Kongo prägt ein Gebiet von der Größe Westeuropas. Kaum eine Region beherbergt mehr Tier- und Pflanzenarten und speichert mehr Kohlenstoff. Ein Schwergewicht für die #Artenvielfalt und das #Klima
    Wir sprechen über die #Naturschätze und Bedrohungen, stellen unsere Arbeit in der Region vor und diskutieren, was wir alle zum Schutz der #Regenwälder beitragen können.
    regenwald.org/news/13229/zu-go

  10. #WALDGespräche: Diesmal geht es quer durch das #Kongo-Becken zu #Gorillas und Bonobos.
    Der mächtige Kongo prägt ein Gebiet von der Größe Westeuropas. Kaum eine Region beherbergt mehr Tier- und Pflanzenarten und speichert mehr Kohlenstoff. Ein Schwergewicht für die #Artenvielfalt und das #Klima
    Wir sprechen über die #Naturschätze und Bedrohungen, stellen unsere Arbeit in der Region vor und diskutieren, was wir alle zum Schutz der #Regenwälder beitragen können.
    regenwald.org/news/13229/zu-go

  11. #WALDGespräche: Diesmal geht es quer durch das #Kongo-Becken zu #Gorillas und Bonobos.
    Der mächtige Kongo prägt ein Gebiet von der Größe Westeuropas. Kaum eine Region beherbergt mehr Tier- und Pflanzenarten und speichert mehr Kohlenstoff. Ein Schwergewicht für die #Artenvielfalt und das #Klima
    Wir sprechen über die #Naturschätze und Bedrohungen, stellen unsere Arbeit in der Region vor und diskutieren, was wir alle zum Schutz der #Regenwälder beitragen können.
    regenwald.org/news/13229/zu-go

  12. #WALDGespräche: Diesmal geht es quer durch das #Kongo-Becken zu #Gorillas und Bonobos.
    Der mächtige Kongo prägt ein Gebiet von der Größe Westeuropas. Kaum eine Region beherbergt mehr Tier- und Pflanzenarten und speichert mehr Kohlenstoff. Ein Schwergewicht für die #Artenvielfalt und das #Klima
    Wir sprechen über die #Naturschätze und Bedrohungen, stellen unsere Arbeit in der Region vor und diskutieren, was wir alle zum Schutz der #Regenwälder beitragen können.
    regenwald.org/news/13229/zu-go

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  14. Our 21 Videos:
    #Arbeitskampf bei Lieferdienst #Gorillas
    #LaborDispute at Gorillas delivery service
    youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkj

    Hundreds of people at Gorillas Workers Collectiv demo for better conditions, against precarization
    Berlin, 16.11.21

    #B1611 #Betriebsrat #WorkersCouncil

  15. Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla

    Mighty, intelligent and gentle Western Lowland Gorillas are well-loved apes, they are #critically endangered by #deforestation and habitat loss for #palmoil, cocoa and mining along with disease and illegal poaching in #Congo #Nigeria #Cameroon Help them to survive every time you shop! Join the #Boycott4Wildlife

    Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla

    https://youtu.be/KN2xyKHGpnI

    Mighty and gentle Western Lowland Gorilla are well-loved apes 💌🦍, they are #critically endangered by #deforestation for #palmoil 🌴 #cocoa 🍫 in #Congo #Nigeria #Cameroon Help them to survive! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/07/10/western-lowland-gorilla-gorilla-gorilla/

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    Despite superior intelligence and tight-knit families, Western Lowland #Gorillas 🦍 are critically #endangered by #palmoil and #tobacco #deforestation and #poaching 😓 Don’t let them vanish! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife 🌴💀🔥🚫 @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/07/10/western-lowland-gorilla-gorilla-gorilla/

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    Critically Endangered

    Angola (Cabinda); Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo; Equatorial Guinea (Equatorial Guinea (mainland)); Gabon; Nigeria

    Habitat loss is emerging as a major threat to Western Gorillas. Other threats include disease and poaching. As oil-palm plantations in Asia reach capacity, Africa is becoming the new frontier for this crop, offering excellent economic prospects in countries with appropriate rainfall, soil and temperatures (Rival and Lavang 2014). Unfortunately, such areas coincide with good Gorilla habitat: 73.8% of the Western Lowland Gorilla’s range is considered suitable for oil palm (Wich et al. 2014).

    IUCN red list

    Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorillaWestern Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorillaWestern Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorillaWestern Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorillaWestern Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla

    Western Lowland Gorillas are found in Angola (Cabinda enclave), Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), mainland Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni), Gabon, Nigeria and Republic of Congo. Until recently, the core population had an almost continuous distribution from southern CAR to the Congo River and west to the coast. Rivers are the primary geographic barrier for this taxon, followed by habitat fragmentation: the two subspecies are separated by a major river (the Sanaga), and Western Lowland Gorillas are divided into subpopulations by other major rivers in the region (Anthony et al. 2007, Fünfstück et al. 2014, Fünfstück and Vigilant 2015).

    The northwestern limit of the western lowland subspecies distribution is the Sanaga River in Cameroon; the northern limit is the forest-savanna boundary to a maximum of roughly 6°N; the eastern limit is the Ubangi River; the Congo River south of its confluence with the Ubangi then becomes the southeastern and southern limits all the way to the coast. Small outlying populations of the Cross River subspecies remain on the Nigeria-Cameroon border at the headwaters of the Cross River and in the proposed Ebo National Park in Cameroon. Most Western Gorillas are found below 500 m asl, but those living on mountains occasionally reach elevations of 1,900 m asl.

    Western Gorillas are diurnal and semi-terrestrial. They build nests to sleep in every night, usually on the ground but sometimes in trees. They are social and live in stable, cohesive groups composed of one “silverback” adult male, several adult females and their offspring. Gorillas are not territorial and group ranges overlap extensively.

    Western Lowland Gorillas occur in both swamp and lowland forests throughout Western Equatorial Africa. They are especially common where ground vegetation is dominated by monocotyledonous plants. Their staple foods are leaves and shoots of the Marantaceae family, whereas fruit consumption varies greatly between seasons (Rogers et al. 2004). Some populations spend hours feeding on aquatic herbs in swamps. Social ants and termites are the only animal matter deliberately eaten. Group size averages 10, but is occasionally over 20 individuals, and annual home ranges are usually 10–25 km² (Williamson and Butynski 2013).

    Male Western Gorillas take 18 years to reach full maturity, whereas females take around 10 years. Their length of the reproductive cycle is unknown. Infant mortality up to three years of age is 22–65%. Infants suckle for 4–5 years, causing lactational amenorrhea in the mother. Interbirth intervals are 4–6 years. Western Gorillas appear to reproduce more slowly than Eastern Gorillas (G. beringei). The maximum length of their lives is unknown but likely to be around 40 years. Generation time is estimated to be 22 years.

    The recent expansion of industrial-scale mineral extraction and the creation of open-pit mines are of great concern (Edwards et al. 2014, Lanjouw 2014), and also lead to the establishment of development corridors, which can be several kilometres wide and add to areas of “lost forest” (Laurance et al. 2015). There is a disconnect between the various bodies responsible for land-use planning in the realms of conservation, mining and agriculture in all Western Gorilla range states except Gabon. Consequently, there is increasing competition for land between long-term conservation needs and immediate financial gain as governments explore the potential of clearing natural habitat in favour of economic development. Without careful and immediate land-use planning that involves cooperation between the government bodies responsible for protected areas and wildlife on one hand, and economic and agricultural development on the other, large areas of Western Lowland Gorilla habitat could be cleared within a few decades.

    You can support this beautiful animal

    Ape Action Africa

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    Virunga National Park

    Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund

    Further Information

    Maisels, F., Bergl, R.A. & Williamson, E.A. 2018. Gorilla gorilla (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T9404A136250858. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T9404A136250858.en. Downloaded on 06 June 2021.

    Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla

    How can I help the #Boycott4Wildlife?

    Take Action in Five Ways

    1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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    2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

    Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

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    Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

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    Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

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    Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

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    The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

    Read more

    How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

    Read more

    3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

    https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

    https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

    https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

    4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

    5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

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