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Science

Gorilla Club Membership

by Margaret Etherton

You are cordially invited to join the Mountain Gorilla Club. This is an exclusive club for rare and refined gorillas in the Virunga mountain range of Central Africa. Please read the following list of conditions for entry to the club and the rules for club members:

Photo Courtesy of Mimika Cooney Photography www.mimika.co.uk

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

Only rare Mountain Gorillas of the species with the official classification Gorilla gorilla beringei can belong to this club.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

To get membership to this club, you need to be big and heavy with more muscles and more teeth than a chimpanzee. You must have broad shoulders and a muscular neck. Your hands and feet should be strong. Your big toe should be spread far apart from your other toes.

You need to have a broad face and a thick ridge above your eyes. Your long arms must be attached to a short bulky body. If you are a male you will be twice the size of a female and the circumference of your chest will equal your height.

You have to walk on all fours and knuckle walk on your front limbs. The palms of the hands will not do, although you are permitted to walk upright on two legs, sometimes.

RULES FOR CLUB MEMBERS

You must be one of the smartest primates on the planet and have the ability to learn sign language.

You must wear a black suit with the exception of older males, who will be allowed to wear a silvery white "saddle" across their backs.

Methods of communication permitted are: grunts, roars, whines, chuckles, growls, and hoots. You need these sounds to teach your children the many skills of survival and to communicate with other gorillas about food, danger, and socializing.

In the middle of the day you should nap. During this time your children are allowed to play games, like King of the Castle and Follow the Leader.

In consideration of other members, you should never eat all the vegetation from a single plant but leave some, so that the plant can regrow. Preference is for fruit and wild celery, but if these are not available leaves, stems, herbs, and vines are acceptable.

At night you must make a nest for yourself and for your offspring out of branches of trees and spongy leaves, so that you are not lying directly on the forest floor.

ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOURS

Demonstrations of assertiveness, namely breast pounding, standing on two legs, and screaming are allowed. Tucking in your lip, sticking out your tongue, running sideways, throwing objects, and staring are all acceptable forms of communicating your superiority to other gorillas. Displays of aggression are not common.

If you are the leader of the group, named the silverback, you are required to protect the troop and all of its members, in which case you must be the most aggressive male and if necessary, fight other bold males to the death.

On occasions the silverback will be expected to baby-sit young gorillas in the family group.

EXCEPTIONS TO CLUB RULES

Usually only gorillas from the tropical forests in Central Africa will be considered but, because current assessment of your situation is endangered, exceptions will be made for Mountain Gorillas kept in recognized zoos.

Thank you for your application to the Mountain Gorilla Club. You will be notified of the result of your application shortly.

Facts about the population of the Mountain Gorillas:

· The Mountain Gorilla is listed as endangered. Only about 600 survive in the remnants of mountain forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.
· Their forest home is being cleared as human population expands into their habitat.
· Humans hunt them for food and sell their hands and heads as souvenirs.

Bibliography on Gorillas

Myers, Philip. Mammals, An Explore Your World Handbook. NY: Discovery Books, 2000.

Macdonald, David.,ed., The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. London: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Documentary sources:

21st Century Arc series: Gorillas (video recording), 10 October 2002, Animal Planet Channel, Optus Television.

Internet Sources:

http://www.congogorillaforest.com/i-fastfacts.html

http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Western_Lowland_Gorilla.asp

http://www.seaworld.org/AnimalBytes/gorillaab.html

http://www.geocities.com/bioeureka/gorillas.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/apes/gorilla/

The End

Margaret Etherton is a teacher, tutor and writer. She has taught a range of subjects, such as reading, writing, mathematics and computers to people of all ages - from small kids to seniors. Her publishing credits include over twenty fiction and non-fiction articles for Australian School Magazines. Many of her stories have been created about animals from an interesting viewpoint or with a twist in the telling. Margaret lives close to the beach in Sydney with her husband, her four children and her cat, Mushka..

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