Communication in Mountain Gorillas: Just like humans, mountain gorillas can communicate through a variety of methods – body postures, facial expressions and vocalizations.
Mountain gorillas are rare creatures and one of the critically endangered in the world found only in three countries – Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and live in four national parks, including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and Virunga National Park.
Mountain gorillas live in family groups led by a dominant silverback-male and are majestic, highly intelligent, and social creatures. They communicate through a repertoire of up to 25 distinct sounds, they share strong family bonds and are known to create and use tools.
Sadly, mountain gorillas are critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List.
Communicating Dominance
To communicate dominance, mountain gorillas use a variety of behaviors and vocalizations. It can be as subtle as slightly moving out of the way of a dominant individual as he/she approaches, to making an appeasement vocalization, which is often accompanied by a submissive posture like crouching, to a full-fledged display that includes throwing vegetation, chest beating, strut stances and even aggressive behaviors like hitting or kicking.
Play Face
Facial expressions can stay all! Just like in humans, you may be able to read a person’s mood by their expressions. Sometimes you are able to with gorillas as well as apes. One common and distinctive expression is the play face, this consists of an open mouth with low hanging bottom lip and no teeth showing.
Juveniles are the most common individuals to display the play face, this facial expression is often paired with the gorilla equivalent of laughter.
Smiling and Yawning
Occasionally you may see gorillas communicate in a couple of different ways by showing their teeth. One being “bared teeth”. Where the mouth is open and both rows of teeth are showing.
This is a sign of submission or appeasement and is thought to be tied to the origins of human smiling. Gorillas, particularly males, may also reveal their teeth through yawns. Yawning is thought to occur in context where males are distressed or anxious and could serve as a warning sign and display of dominance.
Vocalizations
Gorillas have many different vocalizations to communicate alarm, distress, aggression, contentment, and group co-ordination. One of most frequent vocalizations is the belch, which is used to convey a sense of contentment between individuals.
Also, gorillas hum or sing which usually occurs in the content of find a highly preferred food and usually involves several individuals or the whole group doing it at the same time.
Chest Beat
A chest beat in gorillas can have multiple different meanings, the most well-known being in times of aggression in males- silverbacks. This style of communication is done by beating the chest with open palms, males have large air sacs located in their chests, which helps carry the sound over long distances. Chest beats are also common in young gorillas, who do it while they are playing.
Can Mountain Gorillas Communicate with Humans?
The answer is YES, mountain gorillas can communicate with humans using sign language and gestures. According to research, mountain gorillas are like humans and they are friendly to them. However due to the shared DNA Composition, mountain gorillas are prone to human diseases, so it is advised to maintain a distance from them when you are in their presence during mountain gorilla trekking.
In conclusion, mountain gorillas are intelligent creatures who use various senses including seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching for communication. Mountain Gorillas live in social groups and use both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.
For your next African Adventure, consider visiting mountain gorillas on a gorilla trekking adventure in Rwanda and Uganda. Browse our recommended gorilla tour packages. Our gorilla trekking tours offer an exclusive opportunity, a privilege, to witness them in their natural habitat, often in tropical or subtropical forests.