This is not the first time that this zookeeper has brought one of her children to meet her work family. She also showed her daughter Olivia to the gorillas when she was 2 months old. Juba the gorilla was very intrigued when seeing his zookeeper, and what she had in her hands. At first, he did now know what to think, but the large silverback became very fascinated with the small newborn and continued to stare.
Gorillas and Humans
Humans and gorillas are very close relatives. Gorillas share around 98% of their DNA with us. Of all the animals in the world, they are our second closest relatives. Chimpanzees are humans’ closest relatives, and we share approximately 98.8% of the same DNA. Gorillas may look more animalistic than humans, but these large creatures are actually more gentle than they seem. They are able to show happiness, sadness, and even laughter. Studies have shown that gorillas are able to recognize the voices of humans they are familiar with. If a gorilla has a good relationship with a human they will associate their voice with positive memories. While not as smart as other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas are extremely intelligent. They have the ability to learn sign language. Famous gorillas like Koko have been able to learn sign phrases with a length of over 8 signs, and use the correct grammatical structures.
Gorrila Family Structure
At a zoo, a gorilla’s family is the fellow great apes that they cohabitate with, and the zoo keepers that take care of them. Gorillas in the wild live in groups ranging from 5 to 10 members. They are very social animals, with their families capable of getting up to 50 members large. Gorilla groups are called troops. One type is that led by a dominant male, who leads several other gorilla females and their young. Another type of group is that made up of several males which are called a bachelor group. Gorillas have a clear hierarchy in their families, and living in a society helps them survive in the wild. Gorillas towards humans are very shy and reserved, and they usually only attack if threatened. In zoos, and the wild humans have managed to build close relationships with gorillas, and some have even made it into their families.
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