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Leipzig Zoological Garden

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Leipzig Zoological Garden , or Leipzig Zoo (German: Zoologischer Garten Leipzig ) is a zoo in the Leipzig district of Mitte , Germany . It was first opened on June 9, 1878. It was taken over by the city of Leipzig in 1920 after World War I and now covers about 27 hectares (67 acres) and contains approximately 850 species. By 2020, the zoo featured six different theme worlds, aiming at providing habitats appropriate for the species on display.

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74-403: Leipzig zoo is internationally noted for its large building projects such as Pongoland (housing gorillas , chimpanzees , bonobos and orangutans ) and Gondwanaland (the world's second largest indoor rainforest hall at 1.65 ha or 4.1 acres). It has bred more than 2,000 lions , 250 rare Siberian tigers , and other carnivores like bears . Leipzig Zoological Garden has been called the "Zoo of

148-405: A "train grunt". Recently, gorillas have been observed engaging in face-to-face sex , a trait once considered unique to humans and bonobos . Gorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers, their primary caregivers, are important to their survival. Male gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. The silverback has

222-509: A brief period each time. By 12 months old, infants move up to five m (16 ft) from their mothers. At around 18–21 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and they regularly spend time away from each other. In addition, nursing decreases to once every two hours. Infants spend only half of their time with their mothers by 30 months. They enter their juvenile period at their third year, and this lasts until their sixth year. At this time, gorillas are weaned and they sleep in

296-548: A chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo , northern Kivu in May 1938. The heaviest gorilla recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) silverback shot in Ambam , Cameroon , which weighed 267 kg (589 lb). Males in captivity can be overweight and reach weights up to 310 kg (683 lb). The eastern gorilla

370-400: A dominant male. Bachelor males form separate herds. While reproductive groups tend to remain small, often containing no more than 10 adults, bachelor herds may contain as many as 50 males. They can run at 56 km/h (35 mph) per hour, often over steep and rocky terrain. They are also excellent swimmers. A guanaco's typical lifespan is 20 to 25 years. In Bolivia, the habitat of Guanacos

444-607: A few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a variety of habitats. 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 2.7 to 6.5 km (1.0 to 2.5 sq mi), with day ranges 154–2,280 m (0.096–1.417 mi). Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants. Western lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than

518-410: A largely supportive relationship with the infants in his troop and shields them from aggression within the group. Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection. Infants suckle at least once per hour and sleep with their mothers in the same nest. Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after five months, but only for

592-417: A male while making eye contact. This serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground. In multiple-male groups, solicitation indicates female preference, but females can be forced to mate with multiple males. Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her or touching her and giving

666-405: 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. One possible predator of gorillas is the leopard . Gorilla remains have been found in leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging. When

740-402: A result, fights do not occur very frequently. The ritualized charge display is unique to gorillas. The entire sequence has nine steps: (1) progressively quickening hooting, (2) symbolic feeding, (3) rising bipedally, (4) throwing vegetation, (5) chest-beating with cupped hands, (6) one leg kick, (7) sideways running, two-legged to four-legged, (8) slapping and tearing vegetation, and (9) thumping

814-479: A separate nest from their mothers. After their offspring are weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become pregnant again. The presence of play partners, including the silverback, minimizes conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring. Twenty-five distinct vocalisations are recognised, many of which are used primarily for group communication within dense vegetation. Sounds classified as grunts and barks are heard most frequently while traveling, and indicate

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888-408: A shared habitat occupied by Grévy's zebras , Rothschild's giraffes , Thomson's gazelles , Nile lechwes and ostriches . Among the other animals are lions , hyena and the very popular meerkats . This area is scheduled to be redesigned to host a South American landscape with a large aquatic habitat will be opened for seals and penguins. Guanacos , flamingos and Chacoan peccaries are amongst

962-482: A silverback. The eastern gorilla is distinguished from the western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild. Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa . Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits

1036-407: A single chulengo is born. Chulengos are able to walk immediately after birth. Male chulengos are chased off from the herd by the dominant male at around one year old. While not considered an endangered species in southern Argentina and Chile, dead guanacos are a common sight throughout this region where they are entangled on fences. Studies have found that annual yearling mortality on fences (5.53%)

1110-512: A small extra fee) to gain a different perspective. Another rare animal living in Gondwanaland is the eastern quoll , a medium-sized carnivorous dasyurid marsupial native to Australia. One of the main attractions of this theme world are the Indian elephants . They have their own swimming pool, complete with a visitor gallery underneath. The critically endangered Chinese pangolin – almost extinct in

1184-598: A troop tend to be friendly towards each other and associate closely. Otherwise, females have few friendly encounters and commonly act aggressively towards each other. Females may fight for social access to males and a male may intervene. Male gorillas have weak social bonds, particularly in multiple-male groups with apparent dominance hierarchies and strong competition for mates. Males in all-male groups, though, tend to have friendly interactions and socialise through play, grooming, and staying together, and occasionally they even engage in homosexual interactions. Severe aggression

1258-487: Is a camelid native to South America , closely related to the llama . Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña , which lives at higher elevations. The guanaco gets its name from the Quechua word huanaco (modern spelling wanaku ). Young guanacos are called chulengos or "guanaquitos". Guanacos stand between 1.0 and 1.3 m (3 ft 3 in and 4 ft 3 in) at

1332-409: Is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew", although both mountain and lowland gorillas have been observed drinking. Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 ft (0.61 to 1.52 m) in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on

1406-528: 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. Mountain gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with one another. Their home ranges vary from 3 to 15 km (1.2 to 5.8 sq mi), and their movements range around 500 m (0.31 mi) or less on an average day. Despite eating

1480-472: Is found to be threatened by woody plant encroachment . Some guanacos live in the Atacama Desert , where in some areas it has not rained for over 50 years. A mountainous coastline running parallel to the desert enables them to survive in what are called "fog oases" or lomas . Where the cool water touches the hotter land, the air above the desert is cooled, creating a fog and thus water vapor. Winds carry

1554-468: Is full of haire, but not very thicke, and it is a dunnish colour. . . Hee goeth alwaies vpon his legs, and carrieth his hands clasped on the nape of his necke, when he goeth upon the ground... They goe many together, and kill many Negroes that trauaile in the Woods . . . Those Pongos are neuer taken aliue, because they are so strong, that ten men cannot hold one of them... A century and a half after Battel's story

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1628-403: Is further difference in how many copies each gene has. gibbons  (family Hylobatidae) orangutans  (genus Pongo ) gorillas (genus Gorilla ) humans  (genus  Homo ) chimpanzees (genus  Pan ) Until recently, gorillas were considered to be a single species, with three subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and

1702-415: Is highly similar to that of humans , from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees . Gorillas are the largest living primates , reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called

1776-611: Is important for the survival of guanacos because they cannot easily hide in the open grasslands of the Altiplano. Natural predators of the guanaco include pumas and the culpeo or Andean fox. Fox predation was unknown until 2007 when predators began to be observed in the Karukinka Reserve in Tierra del Fuego. Scientists attribute this to the unfavourable climatic conditions on the island, which are causing food to become scarce, weakening

1850-416: Is likely to be a tactic against this. However, while gorilla troops usually disband after the silverback dies, female eastern lowlands gorillas and their offspring have been recorded staying together until a new silverback transfers into the group. This likely serves as protection from leopards. The silverback is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining

1924-652: Is limited. Guanaco respond to forage availability, occupying zones with low to intermediate food availability in the breeding season and those with the highest availability in the non-breeding season. Estimates, as of 2016, place their numbers around 1.5 to 2 million animals: 1,225,000–1,890,000 in Argentina, 270,000–299,000 in Chile, 3,000 in Peru, 150–200 in Bolivia and 20–100 in Paraguay. This

1998-409: Is more darkly coloured than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or greyish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than

2072-598: Is only 3–7% of the guanaco population before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in South America. A small population introduced by John Hamilton exists on Staats Island in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) , with a population of around 400 as of 2003. In Torres del Paine National Park, the numbers of guanacos increased from 175 in 1975 to 3,000 in 1993. Guanacos live in herds composed of females, their young, and

2146-778: Is rare in stable groups, but when two mountain gorilla groups meet the two silverbacks can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping injuries. Females mature at 10–12 years (earlier in captivity), and males at 11–13 years. A female's first ovulatory cycle occurs when she is six years of age, and is followed by a two-year period of adolescent infertility. The estrous cycle lasts 30–33 days, with outward ovulation signs subtle compared to those of chimpanzees. The gestation period lasts 8.5 months. Female mountain gorillas first give birth at 10 years of age and have four-year interbirth intervals. Males can be fertile before reaching adulthood. Gorillas mate year round. Females will purse their lips and slowly approach

2220-538: Is swallowed with little chewing and first enters the forestomach to be digested finally after rumination. This process is similar to that of ruminants, to which camels are not zoologically related. The camels' digestive system is likely to have developed independently of ruminants, which is evidenced by the fact that the forestomachs are equipped with glands. Guanacos are often found at altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft) above sea level, except in Patagonia , where

2294-517: Is the oldest gorilla ever; oldest female gorilla ever; oldest living gorilla and oldest living female gorilla. The oldest male gorilla ever was Ozoum , who reached to the final age of 61 years, 24 days. The oldest living male gorilla is Guhonda, aged 53 years, 332 days. Gorillas have a patchy distribution. The range of the two species is separated by the Congo River and its tributaries . The western gorilla lives in west central Africa, while

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2368-647: Is typically more than 12 years of age, and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back, which comes with maturity. Silverbacks have large canine teeth that also come with maturity. Both males and females tend to emigrate from their natal groups. For mountain gorillas, females disperse from their natal troops more than males. Mountain gorillas and western lowland gorillas also commonly transfer to second new groups. Mature males also tend to leave their groups and establish their own troops by attracting emigrating females. However, male mountain gorillas sometimes stay in their natal troops and become subordinate to

2442-771: The Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes , ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level , with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda . There are thought to be around 316,000 western gorillas in

2516-713: The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center is situated in Pogoland, operating in collaboration with the Leipzig Zoo. The research focuses on both behavior and cognition of the four species of great apes : chimpanzees , gorillas (in this case western lowland gorillas ), orangutans , and bonobos . There is a special focus on the ontogeny (origin and development) of chimpanzee cognition. When it

2590-417: The shoulder , body length of 2.1 to 2.2 m (6 ft 11 in to 7 ft 3 in), and weigh 90 to 140 kg (200 to 310 lb). Their color varies very little (unlike the domestic llama ), ranging from a light brown to dark cinnamon and shading to white underneath. Guanacos have grey faces and small, straight ears. The lifespan of a guanaco can be as long as 28 years. Guanacos are one of

2664-410: The animals. The absence of pumas on Tierra del Fuego is also believed to be a factor that allows the fox to occupy their ecological niche. Finally, it is believed that this behaviour is not new, as the fox is nocturnal, which makes any predation challenging to observe. Faced with the threat of the fox, guanacos resort to cooperative strategies to protect their young with a shield formation, a circle around

2738-428: The average weight of 42 wild adult male gorillas at 144 kg, while Smith and Jungers (1997) found the average weight of 19 wild adult male gorillas to be 169 kg. Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks due to the characteristic silver hair on their backs reaching to the hips. The tallest gorilla recorded was a 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) silverback with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in),

2812-451: The chimpanzee genus. The species name was derived from Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (gorillai)  'tribe of hairy women', as described by Hanno. The closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and humans, all of them having diverged from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago. Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of corresponding gorilla genes, but there

2886-464: The city 350 years later at the end of the Punic Wars , 146 BC. In 1625 Andrew Battel mentioned the existence of the animal, under the name Pongo: This Pongo is in all proportion like a man, but... he is more like a Giant in stature, than a man: for he is very tall, [and] hath a man's face, hollow-eyed, with long haire vpon his browes. His face and eares are without haire, and his hands also. His bodie

2960-408: The eastern gorilla lives in east central Africa. Between the species, and even within the species, gorillas live in a variety of habitats and elevations. Gorilla habitat ranges from montane forest to swampland. Eastern gorillas inhabit montane and submontane forests between 650 and 4,000 m (2,130 and 13,120 ft) above sea level. Mountain gorillas live in montane forests at the higher end of

3034-643: The elevation range, while eastern lowland gorillas live in submontane forests at the lower end. In addition, eastern lowland gorillas live in montane bamboo forests, as well as lowland forests ranging from 600–3,308 m (1,969–10,853 ft) in elevation. Western gorillas live in both lowland swamp forests and montane forests, at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). Western lowland gorillas live in swamp and lowland forests ranging up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), and Cross River gorillas live in low-lying and submontane forests ranging from 150–1,600 m (490–5,250 ft). A gorilla's day

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3108-444: The fog across the desert, where cacti catch the water droplets and lichens that cling to the cacti soak it in like a sponge. Guanacos then eat the cactus flowers and the lichens. The guanaco is a diurnal animal. It lives in small herds consisting of one male and several females with their young. When the male detects danger, he warns the group by bleating. The guanaco can run up to 64 km/h (40 mph; 18 m/s). This speed

3182-564: The future". It is ranked as the best zoo in Germany and also the second-best in Europe (after Vienna ). The Zoo Leipzig hosts six different theme worlds; the Founder's Garden, Gondwanaland, Asia, Pongoland, Africa and South America. Zoo director Prof. Dr. Jörg Junhold aimed to combine species conservation, with spacious compounds, which are as appropriate for the species kept within as possible. Additionally

3256-496: The general population. Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies , which would, in humans, indicate type O blood . Due to novel sequences, though, it is different enough to not conform with the human ABO blood group system , into which the other great apes fit. A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more in rare circumstances . At 67 years, 332 days, Fatou

3330-539: The ground with palms to end display. A gorilla's chest-beat may vary in frequency depending on its size. Smaller ones tend to have higher frequencies, while larger ones tend to be lower. They also do it the most when females are ready to mate. Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko , have been taught a subset of sign language . Like the other great apes , gorillas can laugh, grieve, have "rich emotional lives", develop strong family bonds, make and use tools, and think about

3404-403: The ground. The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers. Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic. Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture , but as an important instance of tool use . Gorillas make

3478-506: 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. Gorillas do not appear to directly compete with chimpanzees in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant, gorilla and chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation. The two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects. Gorillas and chimpanzees may ignore or avoid each other when feeding on

3552-446: The guanaco's soft wool is valued second only to that of vicuña wool . The pelts, particularly from the calves, are sometimes used as a substitute for red fox pelts, because the texture is difficult to differentiate. Like their domestic descendant, the llama, the guanaco is double-coated with coarse guard hairs and a soft undercoat, the hairs of which are about 16–18 μm in diameter and comparable to cashmere . Guanacos inhabit

3626-538: The hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans. Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for

3700-630: The history of Hanno the Navigator ( c. 500 BC), a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition to the west African coast to the area that later became Sierra Leone . Members of the expedition encountered "savage people, the greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters called Gorillae". It is unknown whether what the explorers encountered were what we now call gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans. Skins of gorillai women, brought back by Hanno, are reputed to have been kept at Carthage until Rome destroyed

3774-404: The inhabitants (before reconstruction). Gorilla Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei Gorillas are herbivorous , predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa . The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla , and either four or five subspecies . The DNA of gorillas

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3848-490: The largest terrestrial mammals native to South America today. Other terrestrial mammalian megafauna weighing as much or more than the guanaco include the tapirs , the marsh deer , the white-tailed deer , the spectacled bear , and the jaguar . Guanacos have thick skin on their necks, a trait also found in their domestic counterparts, the llama , and their relatives, the wild vicuña and domesticated alpaca . This protects their necks from predator attacks. Bolivians use

3922-642: The lowland gorillas suggest that the western and eastern lowland populations diverged around 261 thousand years ago. Wild male gorillas weigh 136 to 227 kg (300 to 500 lb), while adult females weigh 68–113 kg (150–250 lb). Adult males are 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) tall, with an arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 m (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Female gorillas are shorter at 1.25 to 1.5 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 11 in), with smaller arm spans. Colin Groves (1970) calculated

3996-419: The massive greenhouse Gondwanaland opened comprising an area larger than two football pitches (16,500 square metres (178,000 sq ft)). It has its own tropical climate and hosts 170 exotic animal species and around 500 different plant species from Africa , Asia and South America . There is a treetop trail, with squirrel monkeys jumping around very closely. Visitors can also take a small open boat (for

4070-540: The mountain gorilla. There is now agreement that there are two species, each with two subspecies. More recently, a third subspecies has been claimed to exist in one of the species. The separate species and subspecies developed from a single type of gorilla during the Ice Age , when their forest habitats shrank and became isolated from each other. Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations. The species and subspecies listed here are

4144-778: The movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites, and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males subordinate to the silverback, known as blackbacks, may serve as backup protection. Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years and lack the silver back hair. The bond that a silverback has with his females forms the core of gorilla social life. Bonds between them are maintained by grooming and staying close together. Females form strong relationships with males to gain mating opportunities and protection from predators and infanticidal outside males. However, aggressive behaviours between males and females do occur, but rarely lead to serious injury. Relationships between females may vary. Maternally related females in

4218-496: The neck skin of these animals to make shoes , flattening and pounding the skin to be used for the soles. In Chile, hunting is allowed only in Tierra del Fuego , where the only population not classified as endangered in the country resides. Between 2007 and 2012, 13,200 guanacos were legally hunted in Tierra del Fuego. Like all camels, Guanacos are herbivores, grazing on grasses, shrubs, herbs, lichens, fungi, cacti, and flowers. The food

4292-590: The ones upon which most scientists agree. [REDACTED] 2,600 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Unknown [REDACTED] The proposed third subspecies of Gorilla beringei , which has not yet received a trinomen , is the Bwindi population of the mountain gorilla, sometimes called the Bwindi gorilla . Some variations that distinguish the classifications of gorilla include varying density, size, hair colour, length, culture, and facial widths. Population genetics of

4366-474: The others and they are more dispersed across their range. They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at 1,105 m (0.687 mi) per day on average, and have larger home ranges of 7–14 km (2.7–5.4 sq mi). 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

4440-556: The past and future. Some researchers believe gorillas have spiritual feelings or religious sentiments. They have been shown to have cultures in different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show individual colour preferences . The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in

4514-422: The same tree, but they have also been documented to form social bonds. Conversely, coalitions of chimpanzees have been observed attacking families of gorillas including silverbacks and killing infants. Gorillas live in groups called troops. Troops tend to be made of one adult male or silverback, with a harem of multiple adult females and their offspring. However, multiple-male troops also exist. A silverback

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4588-401: The silverback. If the silverback dies, these males may be able to become dominant or mate with the females. This behaviour has not been observed in eastern lowland gorillas. In a single male group, when the silverback dies, the females and their offspring disperse and find a new troop. Without a silverback to protect them, the infants will likely fall victim to infanticide . Joining a new group

4662-413: The southerly latitude means ice covers the vegetation at these altitudes. Their blood is rich in red blood cells , enabling them to survive in the low oxygen levels found at these high altitudes. A teaspoon of guanaco blood contains about 68 million red blood cells, four times that of a human. Guanaco fiber is particularly prized for its soft, warm feel and is found in luxury fabric . In South America,

4736-516: The steppes, scrublands and mountainous regions of South America . They are found in the altiplano of Peru , Bolivia and Chile , and in Patagonia , with a small population in Paraguay . In Argentina they are more numerous in Patagonian regions, as well as in places such as Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego . In these areas, they have more robust populations, since grazing competition from livestock

4810-586: The vulnerable. If they are successful, they chase the fox away, which would be impossible with a puma. When threatened, the guanaco alerts the rest of the herd with a high-pitched bleating sound, which sounds similar to a short, sharp laugh. The male usually runs behind the herd to defend them. Though typically mild-mannered, guanacos often spit when threatened, and can do so up to a distance of six feet. Mating season occurs between November and February, during which males often fight violently to establish dominance and breeding rights. Eleven-and-a-half months later,

4884-520: The western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye colour is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism , that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla . Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest . Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking , although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. A 2018 study investigating

4958-531: The whereabouts of individual group members. They may also be used during social interactions when discipline is required. Screams and roars signal alarm or warning, and are produced most often by silverbacks. Deep, rumbling belches suggest contentment and are heard frequently during feeding and resting periods. They are the most common form of intragroup communication. For this reason, conflicts are most often resolved by displays and other threat behaviours that are intended to intimidate without becoming physical. As

5032-421: The wild – also inhabits this part of the zoo. Until they finally received an appropriate environment in 2017, the snow leopards lived in „traditional cages“ like the panther Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about in 1902. The modern ape -world with spacious outdoor facilities was opened in 2001 and allows four species of primates to live in family groups. Besides that it hosts a research centre in cooperation with

5106-540: The wild, and 5,000 eastern gorillas. Both species are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN; all subspecies are classified as Critically Endangered with the exception of the mountain gorilla, which is classified as Endangered . There are many threats to their survival, such as poaching, habitat destruction, and disease, which threaten the survival of the species. However, conservation efforts have been successful in some areas where they live. The word gorilla comes from

5180-585: The wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means all of the great apes are now known to use tools. Guanaco The guanaco ( / ɡ w ɑː ˈ n ɑː k oʊ / ghwuah- NAH -koh ; Lama guanicoe )

5254-403: The zoo offers educational tours to visitor groups and various special events. The Founder's Garden is located close to the entrance, partially in historical buildings. Besides the explorer's arch, which is also used for educational purposes this part of the zoo includes compounds displaying koalas since 2016 in the former ape house as well as a budgerigar aviary and primate islands. In 2010,

5328-463: Was higher than adult mortality (0.84%) and was more frequent in ovine (93 cm high) than bovine (113 cm) fences. Most guanacos died entangled by their legs in the highest wire when trying to jump over the fence. Around 300 guanacos are in U.S. zoos, and around 200 are registered in private herds. Guanacos have long been thought to be the parent species of the domesticated llama , which was confirmed via molecular phylogenetic analysis in 2001, although

5402-743: Was planned and constructed the Yerkes National Primate Research Center functioned as the role model for its creation. All of the primate species participate in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria which is part of the EAZA Ex-situ Programme . Numerous young apes were born in Leipzig since Pogoland opened. One of the main attractions of the African area is the 25,000 m (270,000 sq ft) Kiwara Savannah,

5476-461: Was published, one writer claimed that "the large species, described by Buffon and other authors as of the size of a man, is held by many to be a Chimera ." The American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the western gorilla in 1847 from specimens obtained in Liberia . They called it Troglodytes gorilla , using the then-current name of

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