| behaviour
and intelligence |
strong behaviour difference in different gorilla species reported
“In the past few years Doran-Sheehy has documented neighboring groups of
western lowland gorillas feeding alongside one another in swamps and other
habitats. "Females from one group may move along and sit right by the
silverback from another—the two groups are totally nonchalant, just
hanging out," Bradley said. "You would rarely see this kind of behavior in
mountain gorillas.”
—
“Studies have revealed that male mountain gorillas engage in displays of
aggression over 90 percent of the time when neighboring groups come in
close contact, said geneticist Brenda Bradley at the Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. These spectacular
male-to-male displays often involve chest beating, charging, and hooting.
One in five displays may culminate in physical violence, she said.”
—
“Western gorilla groups are small and are led by a lone reproductively
active silverback. Other mature males appear to leave home to set up house
nearby. In contrast, around 50 per cent of mountain gorilla males remain
in the group of their birth, Bradley said.”
It is suggested this leads to different genetic payoffs and thence
to different behaviour. Of course, the different behaviour also leads to different genetic
pressures!
|
03.04.2004
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