Some Behavioral Comparisons between the Chimpanzee and the Mountain Gorilla in the Wild

Abstract

Two tzpes of behavioral information may be distinguished in the literature on chimpanzees and gorillas: 1) that obtained in the wild, which may be subdivided into the reports of unarmed naturalists such as Garner (1896) or the Akelevs (1923), and the reports of collectors or hunters such as Aschemeier (1921); and 2) that obtained in captivity, in zoos (e.g. Budd et al. 1943), laboratories (e.g. Yerkes 1943), and by people who kept these apes as pets (e.g. Hayes 1951, Lang 1961). Following in the tradition of the unarmed naturalists, a series of field-workers (Schaller 1963, Goodall 1962, 1963, Kortlandt 1962, Reynolds 1963, 1964, 1965 and in press) has recently contributed greatly to our knowledge of the natural behavior of these anthropoids. The aim of this paper is to make some behavioral comparisons between the population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) studied by the author un the Budongo Forest, W. Uganda, and the population of mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) studied by Schaller (1963), chiefly at Kabara in E. Congo and also in S.W. Uganda. Unless otherwise stated, data referring to the mountain gorilla are taken from Schaller (1963) and those for the chimpanzee from the author's observations (Reynolds 1963, 1964, 1965, and in press).