WASHINGTON - Leah, the first gorilla ever seen using tools,
has secured herself another small place in history by becoming the first gorilla
captured on film mating face-to-face, researchers reported on Tuesday.
A team from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Max
Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany photographed
the unusual scene in the Republic of Congo. Although other researchers have
reported seeing gorillas in such a human-like position, none had ever been
photographed.
"We can't say how common this manner of mating is, but it has
never been observed with western gorillas in the forest," said Max-Planck's
Thomas Breuer, who photographed the gorilla couple along with colleague Mireille
Ndoundou Hockemba.
"It is fascinating to see similarities between gorilla and
human sexual behavior demonstrated by our observation."
The researchers have been studying the group of western
gorillas in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo.
"Understanding the behavior of our cousins the great apes
sheds light on the evolution of behavioral traits in our own species and our
ancestors," Breuer added in a statement.
"It is also interesting that this same adult female has been
noted for innovative behaviors before."
Writing in the Gorilla Gazette, Breuer and Hockemba said they
watched Leah mating with a silverback male named George, who dominates the small
group.
"Leah was lying on the ground and George was looking into
Leah's eyes," the report reads.
The western lowland gorilla is a critically endangered
species, with populations down 60 percent under pressure from human hunters,
destruction of their habitat, and health threats such as the Ebola virus, which
kills gorillas and humans alike.
Leah made headlines around the world in 2005 when she was
seen using a stick to test the depth of a pool of water before wading into it.
Breuer said only a few primates such as bonobos mate in a face-to-face
position, known technically as ventro-ventral copulation. Most usually mate
while facing in the same direction.
