Watch These Gorillas Sing With Joy and Satisfaction While Feasting on Banana Leaves

Has anyone ever enjoyed a meal as much as these young Eastern gorillas are enjoying their banana leaves? In this wonderful footage, we join Mountain and Grauer’s gorillas who are being cared for by the Gorilla Doctors in Kinigi, Rwanda. This organization is dedicated to saving mountain eastern lowland gorillas. Even though mountain gorillas are still endangered, they are the only great ape species whose numbers are growing!

Watch the Enjoyment Below

Where Do Eastern Gorillas Normally Live?

Eastern mountain gorillas are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. They live in the montane cloud forests of the Virunga Range. They can also sometimes be seen in the afro-alpine meadows. These gorillas live in social groups which consist of a single male with a herm of females and their offspring. While gorillas are not strictly territorial, there can be conflicts between different groups when they encounter each other. They have complex patterns of communication that include vocalizations, tactile contact, and chemical communication via odors. Body posture and facial expressions are also important aspects of visual communication among gorillas.

What Do Gorillas Normally Eat?

As you can see in this clip, eating is a very important part of life for gorillas. It is estimated that they spent around 30 percent of their day feeding and 40 percent of their day resting after eating! They are very keen on banana leaves. However, they will eat the roots, leaves, and stems of several different types of herbs, vines, and shrubs. They also eat a lot of bamboo. Their diet is further supplemented by a small amount of bark, flowers, fruit, and fungi. If they come across invertebrates, they are also willing to eat them and they have also been seen feasting on gorilla dung!

How Do Gorillas Normally Reproduce?

Mountain gorillas are polygynous which means that the dominant male has the exclusive mating rights to all of the females within the group. Female gorillas do not have many offspring. They may only have two in their entire 40-year lifespan. At the same time, some females have up to six. Males, on the other hand, are fertile for around 50 years and during this time they can have up to 20 offspring.

Female gorillas are pregnant for eight and a half months and then give birth to a live baby gorilla. This baby lives off its mother’s milk and is often not fully weaned until three years of age. Then, they can start to eat banana leaves!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Martin Prochazkacz/Shutterstock.com