Gorillas communicate important information through chest strokes

2021/04/08 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

A study published by Scientifi in the journal Reports concludes that Goril's chest strokes serve to communicate important information about the individual. The sound of the bumps reports the size and may also serve to identify individuals.

Previously it has been suggested that gorillas hit the chest to communicate, but it was not clear what information they give exactly. Therefore, for two and a half years they followed 25 adults from Rwanda. On the one hand, the sizes of the gorillas have been determined by photographs and on the other, some characteristics of the chest strokes have been taken into account: sound frequency, duration, number of strokes and frequency of strokes.

The larger the size of the gorillas, the lower the frequency of chest noise. On the other hand, there are significant differences in terms of duration and number of strokes. These differences are not related to size and researchers believe they can serve to identify individuals.

In fact, gorillas live in closed jungles and researchers have suggested that in these areas chest blows can be very useful for communicating. And size information is important for gorillas, both to choose their breeding partner and to measure their rivals.