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Jeanne, I just read your article on the Lowland Gorillas. Awesome! I love to watch documentaries on gorillas. I used to visit Ivan at the B&I in the state of Washington when I lived there. It was so sad to see him confined all his life. It irritated him that people peered into his habitat daily. He had no privacy and would sometimes get very angry. I would communicate with him with hand signals and sometimes he would copy the signals. I wonder if he knew I was saying I understood his anger. I would then pat my heart and extend my hand to him. One day he did that for me.

Phyllis, that is incredible. Animals can sense our feelings so I feel sure that Ivan understood your compassion.

When Ivan died I felt like I had lost a friend.

You can read about Ivan HERE.

What a heartwarming story Phyllis. You betcha they know exactly what you are feeling.

I was told that Ivan died a few years ago. But - I just did some research and cannot find any info that he died. I remember when I was standing there looking in his window it seemed like he knew what I was thinking. I am sure many other people felt compassion for him also and he knew that. Ivan did find friends and love at Zoo Atlanta, so I am not as sad now, knowing that he has a good home. If he is still alive, he would be about 50 years old now. I would love to visit him again.

Hi Phyllis!

Thank you for starting this thread! This week's article is Western Lowland Gorilla Facts for anyone else who wishes to read it.

I live about five miles from the Miami Metro Zoo which is considered one of the top ten zoos in the US. I love the fact I can go see the animals and take pictures of them for articles. Zoos are great for educating people about animals they know very little about. Zoos can be helpful in re-populating threatened species. Overall, the habitats seem to be very good for the animals at Miami Metro Zoo.

On the other hand, I do hate to see animals that appear to be depressed or stressed out in their environments. At my local zoo I can think of two exhibits where the animals may be depressed since they walk the same path over and over again. That's something the zoo keepers should remedy.

BTW, in this forum post Lowland Gorillas in the Animal Life forum someone mentioned the movie Gorillas In The Mist. If I'm not mistaken, Dian Fossey was in Rwanda studying mountain gorillas which are a bit different and even more threatened than the western lowland gorilla.

You are right, Jeanne - Dian Fossey studied the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. I did not make that distiction. I just love to watch gorillas.

What is the difference between the two species other than location? Is it mainly size?

Jeanne - I posted link to your great article in my Animal Life forum - needed to share.

I put up a fact sheet about Mountain Gorillas. I think the biggest difference is they live in Eastern Africa in the mountains and they have longer hair than most other gorilla species.