Mountain gorillas have about 98% DNA similarity to that of human beings, making them close relatives, along with bonobos and chimpanzees.
Mountain gorillas can also express their feelings, wants, needs, and emotions.
They can communicate verbally and non-verbally.
Though mountain gorillas cannot speak, they can express their emotions very distinctly through vocalizations like hoots, chuckles, grunts, laughter, sticking their tongues out, cries, and purrs.
They express their emotions such as annoyance, bluster, laughter, joy, anger, fear, impatience, and pleasure through these sounds and actions.
There are sixteen types of vocalizations known among mountain gorillas, and some of these can be grouped into twelve basic categories.
Gorillas often combine sounds and actions, making it easier to understand their meanings.
For example, when silverbacks are angry, they will emit very loud hoots, beat their chests, and throw vegetation.
Mountain gorillas do this to send a warning to their opponents, and if the opponent doesn’t back down, it can lead to a serious battle.
Baby mountain gorillas also have their own ways of communicating with each other, and their mothers can understand their meaning and attend to them. Infant gorillas communicate through whining and sharp noises.
Gorillas use their vocalizations for various purposes, including offering support and displaying communication to find food, mating, grooming, developing social relationships within the troop, and expressing social distress. Mothers also play a role in teaching their children how to communicate.
In some cases, mountain gorillas have been taught by humans to communicate using sign language, as seen with Koko, a gorilla that researchers taught to communicate using sign language.
Baby mountain gorillas learn to recognize their mothers’ voices at a very young age and can alert themselves in very low voices that are hardly audible to humans in case of danger.
Mountain gorillas also have a strong sense of smell that can alert them to the presence of predators in the area.
Visit mountain gorillas with our African gorilla tours.
