Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 31
Silverback Guhanda, the alpha male of the Sabyinyo group of mountain gorillas,
is groomed by another male, Gukunda. These gorillas live in Rwanda's Volcanoes National
Park, within sight of the Congolese border. Notice Guhanda's gently swelling stomach, a sign
that he is fermenting his lunch of tender leaves and bamboo shoots.
Park—note its uncanny resemblance to Charles Darwin. But the langurs
and colobus do not have as extreme a dietary specialization as the proboscis
monkeys. Urbanized ones often dine on potato chips stolen from incautious
tourists, without obvious ill ef ects.
New World howler monkeys and African gorillas share with the langurs
and colobus monkeys the swollen bellies that are the external signs of fer-
mentation, though leaves do not form such an overwhelming part of their
diets and they do not have specialized foreguts. You can see the gentle fer-
mentative swelling in the tummy of a blissful silverback gorilla that I watched
being groomed by a younger male in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park (see
Figure 31).
The tiny galagos or bush babies of Africa, and several species of lemur in
Madagascar, including the spectacular indri lemur, are also able to get some
