Gorillas dispels the popular myth of the aggressive, chest--beating monsters that appear in the King Kong movie. Found in Africa in mist--shrouded mountains and lowland rainforests, gorillas are peaceful vegetarians who live amicably in social groups. This book paints a fascinating, detailed portrait of these primates, covering all aspects of their behavior and environment. Gorillas presents the latest research on the largest of all the primates: the natural environment of gorillas, where they are found today, and what they eat; family life of the gorillas, including the silverback male and his harem of females; rites of passage in the life of gorillas--in males the progression from infant to blackback to silverback; the intelligence of the gorillas, particularly their environmental intelligence; and their ability to learn elements of human language.
