Editing Gorilla (section)

==Ecology==
===Diet and foraging===
[[File:Gorillas-moving.jpg|thumb|left |Gorillas moving in habitat]]
A gorilla's day is divided between rest periods and travel or feeding periods. Diets differ between and within species. Mountain gorillas mostly eat foliage, such as leaves, stems, pith, and shoots, while fruit makes up a very small part of their diets.{{sfn|McNeilage|2001|pp=265–292}} Mountain gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with one another. Their home ranges vary from {{cvt|3 to 15|km2}}, and their movements range around {{cvt|500|m|mi}} or less on an average day.{{sfn|McNeilage|2001|pp=265–292}} Despite eating a few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a variety of habitats.{{sfn|McNeilage|2001|pp=265–292}}

[[File:Gorilla gorilla08.jpg|thumb|right |Gorilla foraging]]
Eastern lowland gorillas have more diverse diets, which vary seasonally. Leaves and pith are commonly eaten, but fruits can make up as much as 25% of their diets. Since fruit is less available, lowland gorillas must travel farther each day, and their home ranges vary from {{cvt|2.7 to 6.5|km2}}, with day ranges {{cvt|154–2280|m|mi}}. Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants.<ref name="Yamagiwa 1994">{{cite journal |last1=Yamagiwa |first1=J. |last2=Mwanza |first2=N. |last3=Yumoto |first3=T. |last4=Maruhashi |first4=T. |year=1994 |title=Seasonal change in the composition of the diet of eastern lowland gorillas |journal=Primates |volume= 35 |doi=10.1007/BF02381481 |pages=1–14 |s2cid=33021914}}</ref> Western lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than the others and they are more dispersed across their range.<ref name="Tutin 1996">{{cite book |last=Tutin |first=C. G. |year=1996 |chapter=Ranging and social structure of lowland gorillas in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon |editor1-last=McGrew |editor1-first=W. C. |editor2-last=Marchant |editor2-first=L. F. |editor3-last=Nishida |editor3-first=T. |title=Great Ape Societies |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=58–70}}</ref> They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at {{cvt|1105|m|mi}} per day on average, and have larger home ranges of {{cvt|7–14|km2}}.<ref name="Tutin 1996"/> Western lowland gorillas have less access to terrestrial herbs, although they can access aquatic herbs in some areas. Termites and ants are also eaten.

Gorillas rarely drink water "because they consume succulent vegetation that is {{sic|comprised|hide=y| of}} almost half water as well as morning dew",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/gorilla/diet.htm |title=Gorillas – diet & eating habits |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811113134/http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/gorilla/diet.htm |archive-date=11 August 2011 |publisher=Seaworld |access-date= 27 September 2011}}</ref> although both mountain and lowland gorillas have been observed drinking.

=== Nesting ===
{{see also | Nest-building in primates#In hominid apes|label 1= Nest-building in primates § In gorillas}}
[[File:Gorilla nest.jpg|thumb|right |Gorilla night nest constructed in a tree]]
Gorillas construct [[nest]]s for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about {{convert |2 |to |5 |ft |m |abbr=on}} in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the ground. The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers.<ref name="Miller-Schroeder1997">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wSXgVKUYpvgC&pg=PA20 |title=Gorillas |last=Miller-Schroeder |first=P. |publisher=[[Weigl Educational Publishers Limited]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0919879898 |page=20 |access-date=4 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144631/http://books.google.com/books?id=wSXgVKUYpvgC&pg=PA20 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic.<ref name="MarchantNishida1996">{{cite book |last1=Marchant |first1=L. F. |last2=Nishida |first2=T. |title=Great ape societies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGfjJ4lKb1IC&pg=PA226 |access-date=4 July 2011 |year=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521555364 |pages=226–227 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144319/http://books.google.com/books?id=iGfjJ4lKb1IC&pg=PA226 |archive-date=27 June 2014}}</ref> Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just [[animal architecture]], but as an important instance of [[tool use]].<ref name="MarchantNishida1996" />

Gorillas make a new nest to sleep on each day; even if remaining in the same place, they do not use the previous one. Usually, they are made an hour before dusk, to be ready to sleep when night falls. Gorillas sleep longer than humans, an average of 12 hours per day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Oct 2019 |title=Gorilla Night Routines |url=https://gorillafund.org/uncategorized/gorilla-night-routines/ |access-date=8 Oct 2022 |website=Gorilla Fund}}</ref>

=== Interspecies interactions ===
One possible predator of gorillas is the [[leopard]]. Gorilla remains have been found in leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fay |first1=J. M. |last2=Carroll |first2=R. |last3=Kerbis Peterhans |first3=J. C. |last4=Harris |first4=D. |year=1995 |url=http://www.catsg.org/catsglib/recordetail.php?recordid=5654 |title=Leopard attack on and consumption of gorillas in the Central African Republic |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=93–99 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1995.1048 |bibcode=1995JHumE..29...93F |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403130757/http://www.catsg.org/catsglib/recordetail.php?recordid=5654 |archive-date=3 April 2012}}</ref> When the group is attacked by humans, leopards, or other gorillas, an individual silverback will protect the group, even at the cost of his own life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/mountaingorilla |title=Wildlife: mountain gorilla |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217164839/http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/mountaingorilla |archive-date=17 February 2012 |publisher=[[African Wildlife Foundation|AWF]] |access-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> Gorillas do not appear to directly compete with [[chimpanzee]]s in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant, gorilla and chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation.<ref name="Tutin1993">{{cite journal |last1=Tutin |first1=C. E. G. |last2=Fernandez |first2=M. |year=1993 |title=Composition of the diet of chimpanzees and comparisons with that of sympatric lowland gorillas in the Lopé reserve, Gabon |journal=American Journal of Primatology |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=195–211 |doi=10.1002/ajp.1350300305 |pmid=31937009 |s2cid=84681736}}</ref> The two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stanford |first1=C. B. |last2=Nkurunungi |first2=J. B. |year=2003 |title=Behavioral ecology of sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: diet |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=901–918 |doi=10.1023/A:1024689008159 |s2cid=22587913}}</ref><ref name="Tutin">{{cite journal |last1=Tutin |first1=C. E. G. |last2=Fernandez |first2=M. |year=1992 |title=Insect-eating by sympatric lowland gorillas (''Gorilla g. gorilla'') and chimpanzees (''Pan t. troglodytes'') in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon |journal=American Journal of Primatology |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=29–40 |doi=10.1002/ajp.1350280103 |pmid=31941221 |s2cid=85569302}}</ref><ref name="Deblauwe">{{cite journal |last1=Deblauwe |first1=I. |year=2007 |title=New insights in insect prey choice by chimpanzees and gorillas in Southeast Cameroon: The role of nutritional value |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=135 |issue=1 |pages=42–55 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20703 |pmid=17902166}}</ref> Gorillas and chimpanzees may ignore or avoid each other when feeding on the same tree,<ref name="Tutin1993"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Galdikas |first=B. M. |year=2005 |title=Great ape odyssey |publisher=Abrams |page=89 |isbn=978-1435110090}}</ref> but they have also been documented to form social bonds.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sanz|first1=C. M.|display-authors=etal|year=2022|title=Interspecific interactions between sympatric apes|journal=iScience|volume=25|issue=10|page=105059|doi=10.1016/j.isci.2022.105059|pmid=36147956 |pmc=9485909 |bibcode=2022iSci...25j5059S }}</ref> Conversely, coalitions of chimpanzees have been observed attacking families of gorillas including silverbacks and killing infants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Southern |first1=L. M. |last2=Deschner |first2=T. |last3=Pika |first3=S. |year=2021 |title=Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (''Pan troglodytes troglodytes'') on gorillas (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') in the wild|journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=14673 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-93829-x |pmid=34282175 |pmc=8290027|bibcode=2021NatSR..1114673S }}</ref>