Gabbing With Gorillas

Gorillas have several different ways of communicating with each other.

 Picture From Wildlife Trails

One gorilla will communicate with another by using gestures, body postures, facial expressions, vocal sounds, chest slaps, drumming and even odors.  Although they can't make the sounds of human speech, gorillas are capable of understanding spoken languages and they can learn to communicate with sign language.

Get That Gorilla A Tissue

Did you know that a gorilla can catch the human cold and other viruses?  Due to the fact that gorillas are physically similar to the human race, a gorilla can catch every disease that we do. 

Just like humans who are battling the bug, a gorilla will show symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing, coughing and lethargy.  Someone get that gorilla a tissue!  Also, if one gorilla gets the flu, like humans, the virus can spread quickly to it's companions.  To prevent the spread of viruses, some zoo's have been giving their gorillas flu shots since 2005.

Pic Of The Week - Oh, That's Cold!

You might have seen this adorable picture as it went viral on the internet a couple weeks ago. And it's no surprise why, this image is just too cute not to share (even if it is more than 10 years old)!

This is Yakini, a newborn baby gorilla born in 1999, getting a checkup from Royal Children's Hospital neonatal specialist Neil Campbell at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. Yakini was surprised by the cold stethoscope and mad the adorable face you see on the right.. To learn more about this photo and how Yakini's doing, read this article.

And take a look at this comparison photo we found on Pinterest! It's amazing how much like us monkeys are, isn't it?