Mountain gorillas bounce back from rough childhoods better than many humans and other primates
In 1978, at the tender age of 4, a mountain gorilla named Titus living in East Africa’s Virunga Mountains experienced a series of unthinkable tragedies. His father and brother were killed by poachers, and as his tribe reshuffled and males fought for dominance, another gorilla killed his younger sister. His mother and older sister fled the dangerous situation, leaving him to fend for himself in a new social order. Research on other primates, including humans, suggests individuals who go through so much adversity so young tend to lead shorter lives. But not Titus. He forged new bonds with what was left of his troop and eventually sired more babies than any other gorilla on record, dying in 2009 at the ripe old age (for gorillas) of 35.
According to a study out today in
Current Biology
, Titus’s experience demonstrates a surprising aspect of mountain gorillas: They possess
a rare ability to bounce back from early life adversity
. Young gorillas who faced being orphaned, life-or-death sibling rivalry, or other negative events lived just as long as their peers who enjoyed less challenging upbringings, according to 5 decades’ worth of data on hundreds of mountain gorillas; the data were gathered by researchers with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF), a conservation organization. The finding may reflect the protective power of the gorillas’ tight-knit groups and flexible social structure, the authors say, as well as the importance of plentiful food...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news
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