MEET THE family MOUNTAIN GORILLAS of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in southwestern Uganda is one of the most heavily forested places on the planet On Bwindi’s mountains thick vines fill the spaces between soaring sapele mahogany and shorter African cherry trees Massive eagle ferns cover the ground along with forest bitterberry and woody tangles of purple flowering flowering mimulopsis The diversity of edible plants and herbs in Bwindi satisfies even the largest forest residents mountain gorillas It is mid-December and the dry season has begun Over night the temperature dropped to 48 F 8 9 C A cool mist blanketed the mountainside through the early morning By midday the sun has warmed the forest to 80 F 26 7 C A mountain gorilla family relaxes in the shade munching on fig leaves Suddenly one of the females sighs heavily The other gorillas realize something exciting is about to happen Soon they will have a new family member
CLOSE-UP Scent signals Gorillas produce body odors unique to the individual individual These scents are used to identify each other in the dense forest Smells also change to indicate emotions such as anger fear or love
01 CHAPTER ONE life BBEEGGIINNSS Gorillas belong to the group of mammals called primates These are animals with highly developed brains and gripping hands Gorillas and their closest relatives chimpanzees orangutans and humans are great apes These primates have the largest brains Monkeys and prosimians are also primates They have tails snouts and smaller brains All apes and most other primates have five toes on each foot and four fingers and a thumb on each hand This allows them to hold and control objects Primates have fingernails and toenails instead of claws Newborns have a weak grip A primate mother must hold her newborn to her chest so it can feed on the milk she produces Within a few weeks it grows strong enough to hang on to its mother’s hair by itself BWINDI MOUNTAIN GORILLA MILESTONES DAY 1 Born Covered with sparse fur Weight 4 5 pounds 2 kg Height 10 inches 25 4 cm 7 7
