What happens when an animal that normally gets around
quadrapedally - that is, on four limbs- is videotaped walking
around on just two of them? It becomes a YouTube star, of
course. Ambam, a male western lowland gorilla living at the Port
Lympne Wild Animal Park in England has become a major internet
celebrity (to which I'm contributing with this very post) after
videos of him getting about bipedally were posted online.
Gorillas, like most primates, have dexterous hands with an
opposable thumb on their forelimbs. They normally get around on
all fours by "knuckle-walking" on their bent fingers. They do
have the ability to walk on two legs of course, which is
something they do when they are carrying food or other objects
in their front arms, or, in the case of males, when they rise up
to intimidate other males or potential threats in dominance
displays. But normally they don't make a habit of it because
gorilla bodies are designed primarily for quadrapedal
locomotion. Why Ambam decided that he likes getting aro