The gorilla breeds about December, a cool and dry month:
according to my bushmen, the period of gestation is between five
and six months. The babe begins to walk some ten days after
birth; "chops milk" for three months and, at the end of that time
may reach eighteen inches in height. M. du Chaillu makes his
child, "Joe Gorilla," 2 feet 6 inches when under the third year:
assuming the average height of the adult male at 5 feet to 5 feet
6 inches, this measurement suggests that, according to the law of
Flourens, the life would exceed thirty years. I saw two
fragmentary skins, thoroughly "pepper and salt;" and the natives
assured me that the gorilla turns silver-white with age.
It is still a disputed point whether the weight is supported by
the knuckles of the forehand, like the chimpanzee, or whether the
palm is the proper fulcrum. M. du Chaillu says ("First
Expedition," chap, xx.), "the fingers are only lightly marked on
the ground;" yet a few pages afterwards we are told, "The most
usual mode of progression of the animal is on all-fours and
resting on the knuckles." In the "Second Expedition" (chap, ii.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284