Like people, gorillas can adopt orphaned young from their herd. Several years ago, four female gorillas went home and abandoned not only their mate (a rather ill gorilla) but also their young, who were not yet old enough to feed. They probably thought that their offspring would be safer with the father, despite being ill, than with the new males who often kill the offspring of other groups. However, most abandoned pups are at risk of dying prematurely.
However, the researchers were pleasantly surprised: the children’s uncle, a male gorilla named Kubaha, became the caretaker of the young. In fact, according to Tara Stoinski, a scientist at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (an organization for the protection of endangered mountain gorillas), the gorilla let them sleep in their nest and climb on it.
A common behavior in gorillas
According to various recent research, this behavior is very common in mountain gorillas. A study carried out by the Karisoke Research Center of the Gorilla Fund, in Rwanda, concludes that when young gorillas lose their mothers, and sometimes also their fathers, they do not run a greater risk of dying because the rest of the group protects them.
Most chimpanzees, monkeys and baboons that are still dependent on their parents for support tend to die if they lose their mother prematurely. This is because the mothers feed it, clean it, and protect it from predators. In contrast, mountain gorillas seem not to suffer as much, as the group has evolved to protect the young from predators and the dangers of the jungle in the event they lose their mothers.
Orphan Gorilla Research
A leading group of primatologists carried out research using data from 59 gorillas between the ages of 2 and 8 who had been abandoned by their mothers. They then compared their lifetime survival to the survival of 134 gorillas who were not orphans. Thus, the scientists found that gorillas who had lost their mother at an early age not only had no increased risk of dying, but also did not suffer any long-term effects on their reproductive capacity or social rank.
Now, researchers are focused on looking at other species, to see if they also adopt motherless offspring more often than you might think. However, studies suggest that this altruistic behavior is not unique to humans, and that parents (and family) play a fundamental role in the life of primates.
