Writing a paper or doing some school research on gorillas?

Check out our LINKS page for other web sites with information on gorillas that may be helpful to you. Here are some ideas which you might think about pursuing if you are writing a paper about gorillas:

• There are 3 (or 5, if you subscribe to the latest theories) species of gorillas but only one is common in zoos, why?
• What is the current plight of gorillas in the wild?
• What is the Bushmeat crisis? What can be done about it? What can YOU do about it?
• Are gorillas an endangered species? What does that mean? What is CITES?
• Why have gorillas been portrayed as aggressive and frightening animals by the media?
• Are they social animals? How do they live in the wild? Alone? in groups?
• What is a Silverback? When does a gorilla become a Silverback? How long do they live?
• What have zoos been doing in the last 30 years to improve the lot of captive gorillas?
• Which are more like humans? Gorillas or Chimpanzees?
• How should you act around a gorilla? What is appropriate "gorilla etiquette"?
• How do zoos prevent captive gorillas from becoming inbred? What is the SSP?
• Why has the Gorilla Haven project in North Georgia encountered entrenched opposition?
• What can observing gorilla behavior tell us about ourselves and other primates?
• Have gorillas ever been used in medical research? Why or why not?
• Some zoos are forming bachelor groups of Gorillas. Why? Do bachelor groups exist in the wild?
• When were gorillas first discovered? And who discovered them (think about that a bit!)
• A gorilla (Koko) has been taught sign-language? What can a gorilla say to us through sign language?
• Just how intelligent is a gorilla. What does that say about how gorillas should be treated?
• What is the difference between an Ape and a Monkey? What is the difference between Great Apes and Lesser Apes and what are they?
• People look at most animals and just observe them, but when confronted with a gorilla or chimpanzee act quite differently, often trying to get the animal's attention. Why is this? What does it say about us?
• The Great Ape Project talks about giving legal rights to Great Apes. Does that make sense? What do you think about that idea?

Good luck on your project, and while we can't promise to answer every question for you, if you email us at Gorilla haven, at the very least we'll try and help point you in the right direction to get those answers!

And if you think you've written a good paper, would you send us a copy of it? It will not be used for any purpose other than our own information and for helping us come up with ideas for other students. And if it's really good, we'll send you a special Gorilla Goody to congratulate you!