Gorillas

WALT; write a non chronological report

Remember to use:

• an opening paragraph explain what your report is about.
• headings and subheadings for the main body.
• an closing paragraph, recapping on what you have written.
• Pictures, maps etc with captions to explain what they are.

Remember to use faction not opinions.

Gorillas

Gorillas are animals found in the mountains of Africa but they act a lot like humans. They are one of the earth's wonderful animals and we should all protect them together.

Where do Gorilla live?

Gorillas are animals that mainly live in forests in Western Africa such as Rwanda. They live in places 10,000 feet up in the mountains where it’s cloudy and misty. They also move around a lot to find places where it is easy to find food because gorillas get really hungry.

Gorillas can live up to 35-50 years. Gorillas travel in packs called “troops.”

What do Gorillas look like?

The gorillas are huge, with large, big chests and shoulders. They have long arms and short legs. They use their long arms to “knuckle walk”. (This means they walk on all 4 limbs using their knuckles) Gorillas also have strong muscles.

Most people think Gorilla’s are black but they are mostly covered in brown hair. Gorillas from different areas have different kinds of hair colour. For example the western gorillas have light hair colour and the mountain gorillas have dark hair colour. When male gorillas turn older their hair turns white on the back they are called the silver back.

The scientists say that the DNA of Gorillas is 95-99% like humans. They are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom.

What do Gorillas eat?

Gorillas are mostly  herbivores which means they like to eat plants like bamboo, wild celery, bananas and sometimes they might eat insects especially ants. Gorillas get really hungry so they need lots of food. A fully grown male gorilla can eat around 20 kgs of food in a day. WOW! Thats a lot.

How big do gorillas get?

The males gorillas grow to around 6 feet tall (1.80cms) and weigh around 180kgs. The females gorillas grow to 4.5 feet tall and weigh around 90kgs.

Newborn gorillas weigh only about 2kgs at birth. Female gorillas carefully care and protect their young baby gorillas. Baby gorillas learn to crawl at about 2 months and can walk before they are 9 months old ( much earlier than human babies.)

Did you know….

Gorilla's only enemies are humans and leopards.

Gorillas have learnt human sign language to communicate with humans.

Gorillas are an endangered species and the Ebola virus has killed many. There are only 700 mountain gorillas and 300 western gorillas let in the wild.

Gorillas are one of the earth's most splendid animals. They have fun, they play and they groom one another. They are very shy and gentle but can harm humans if they are threatened. I think we can protect these marvelous, splendid species and make sure that people in the future can see them in the wild. What do you think?