Silverback

Silverback

Silverback Lowland Gorilla
Critically Endangered

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Gorillini

This is Mwelu, a male silverback gorilla of the Memphis Zoo.

Lowland Gorillas are highly Intelligent. Many gorillas have been observed exhibiting behaviors which require a high degree of intellegence. One example is a female gorilla exhibiting tool use by using a tree trunk as a support whilst fishing. The skeleton of a gorillas are closely related to humans and are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language.

The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in the wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means that all of the great apes are now known to use tools.

In September 2005, a two and a half year old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts inside a game sanctuary. While this was the first such observation for a gorilla, over forty years previously chimpanzees had been seen using tools in the wild, famously ‘fishing’ for termites. It is a common tale among native peoples that gorillas have used rocks and sticks to thwart predators, even rebuking large mammals. Great apes are endowed with a semi-precision grip, and certainly have been able to use both simple tools and even weapons, by improvising a club from a convenient fallen branch.

This is Mwelu who resides in the Memphis Zoo. He has recently appeared on the Rachael Ray show being declared her Biggest Fan

See how an 8-year-old discovered a gorilla named Mwelu who loves to watch Rachael’s show from his den at the Memphis Zoo! When Rachael finds out that it’s Mwelu’s birthday, she sends along a special message for her biggest fan.

Silverback belongs to the following groups:

EF Welcome Center, Endangered Species, Exotic Mammals, Primate Art and Zoophoria (2 per day, approval required) Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints