Western Lowland Gorillas

A fluttering of eyelashes was to be seen for the handsome, dark haired, male western lowland silverback gorilla that arrived on 13th April 2010. Boulas recently came from Belfast Zoological Gardens to keep Twycross Zoo’s elderly female gorillas Biddy and Bongo company.

The male gorilla’s role is to protect the females and Boulas now has two females to care for and play the macho part.

Gorillas are the largest of the Great Apes and as with all apes they differ from monkeys by having no tails. Gorillas spend most of their time on the ground, hidden in the jungles of Africa. When they walk they use their hands as extra legs, supporting the massive weight of the front of their body on the knuckles of their large fleshy hands

Despite their size, gorillas are peaceful animals and rarely show aggression. In the Zoo they can often be seen beating their chest (King Kong style) or charging the glass barriers of their enclosures. These actions are generally all for display and may help wild gorillas ward off intruders, keep in touch with other group members or to generally let off steam. Chest beating is also used in play situations between members of the family group.

Western lowland gorillas are endangered and are part of an internationally co-ordinated conservation breeding programme. They are ground-dwelling apes and predominantly herbivores these apes inhabit the forests of central Africa.