Fruit‐feeding and activity patterns of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, exhibit significant frugivory, with fruit consumption accounting for 15% of their feeding time on average, varying monthly from 0 to 70%. This study reveals that increased fruit-feeding correlates with more time spent feeding and traveling, while reducing resting periods. Immature gorillas consume proportionally more fruit than adults but spend less overall time feeding and more time traveling. Unlike other great ape populations, Bwindi gorillas are not highly folivorous, instead adapting their activity patterns to dietary variability. The research used six years of observational data on four habituated groups, employing generalized linear mixed models to analyze age-sex differences in fruit-feeding and its impact on activity budgets.

Ostrofsky, K. R., & Robbins, M. M. (2020). Fruit‐feeding and activity patterns of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 173(1), 3–20. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24056