Title: Nutritional composition of the diet of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla): Interspecific variation in diet quality
Research Highlights
-
Fruit (40%) and herb (35%) accounted for 75% of mean monthly food intake in western gorillas (G. gorilla), with leaf (20%) and termite (5%) composing only a quarter of the annual diet.
-
Western gorillas (WGs; G. gorilla) differed from mountain gorillas (MGs; G. beringei) in the nutrient composition of their staple diets, with WGs consuming less protein, more fiber, and nearly twice as much total nonstructural carbohydrate as MGs.
-
Nutritional flexibility in Gorilla reflects ecological variability, not only in food availability but in the nutrient quality of plant foods between Central and East Africa.
Read the full article here.