Wayward Gorillas
Australian scientists believe they know why the endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park are leaving the reserve to raid nearby eucalyptus plantations, causing conflict with the human population.
It had been thought that the gorillas made the regular forays into the nearby farms only because the plants there were richer in protein and more digestible than what is available in the park.
But researchers from the University of Western Australia found that the eucalyptus bark is rich in salt, which the gorillas crave and will go out of their way to get.
No comments:
Post a Comment