Are Gorillas Endangered?    [12-10-2012] Have you ever seen a gorilla? You can see it at a zoo. The gorilla is an interesting animal. In fact, it is a close relative to humans. It shares around 98 percent of the same DNA with humans! Like humans, gorillas have two legs and two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, small ears on the side of the head, forward-looking eyes and 32 teeth. There are three types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland, and Mountain gorillas. The names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Gorillas are the largest living primates. A fully grown male gorilla can be over 1 meter tall and weigh 135 to 225 kilograms. Adult female gorillas are about half the size of the males. Gorillas can live more than 50 years. Gorillas are very intelligent animals. They can use tools like humans. They also use varied communication. Gorillas communicate with each other by using gestures, body postures, facial expressions, vocal sounds, chest slaps, drumming, and odors. They can even learn to communicate in sign language! Gorillas are shy and peaceful. Sadly, they are endangered species. The only natural enemy of gorillas has always been human beings. Mountain gorillas are the most critically endangered - today only about 400 to 600 are left in the world. Gorillas are still hunted for meat in some parts of Africa. In addition, as more and more people take over the land for farming and logging, their habitat is destroyed. The poor gorillas have nowhere left to go!     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)