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[Josh Greenman <josh.greenman AT gmail.com>]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41292533/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Gorilla strolls on hind legs

Behavior might give him 'height advantage to look over the wall' at feeding 
time

A gorilla has achieved fame for walking upright on his hind legs like
a human at a British animal park.

Ambam, a Western lowland gorilla, was filmed strolling about his
enclosure by animal researcher Johanna Watson.

She posted the clip on YouTube, where it has been viewed by more than
250,000 people.

Ambam, a 21-year-old silverback, is part of a bachelor group of the
critically endangered animals at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, which
is run by an international conservation charity, The Aspinall
Foundation.

Gorilla keeper Phil Ridges said Ambam, who now weighs 485 pounds, had
been hand-reared at another animal park when he was a one-year-old for
several months because he was ill.

Family trait?

He said the human-like walking style seemed to run in the family.

"Ambam’s father Bitam used to display the same behavior if he had
handfuls of food to carry," Ridges said in a statement. "Ambam also
has a full sister, Tamba, and a half sister ... who also sometimes
stand and walk in the same way."

"All gorillas can do it to some extent but we haven’t got any who do
it like Ambam and he is quite a celebrity at the park," he added. "We
think he might use it to get a height advantage to look over the wall
when keepers come to feed him and standing up can also help him in
looking for food generally in his enclosure as it gives him a better
vantage point."

Ridges added that Ambam could also carry more food if his hands were
freed from walking and it also meant "he doesn't get his hands wet
when it is raining."

The Aspinall Foundation runs gorilla rescue and rehabilitation
projects in Congo and Gabon.