Ranging and grouping patterns of a western lowland gorilla group at Bai Hokou,Central African Republic

The ranging and grouping patterns of a gorilla group were studied during 27 months from 1990–1992 at the Bai Hokou study site, Central African Republic. The study group ranged far daily (average = 2.3 km/day) and had a large home range (22.9 km²), relative to mountain gorillas, and ranging patterns differed between years. During 1990–1992, the bimale study group foraged less cohesively and had more flexible grouping patterns than mountain gorillas. The study group sometimes split into two distinct foraging subgroups, each led by a silverback, and these subgroups occasionally slept apart (mean = 950 m apart). Lowland gorillas rely on many of the same fruit resources as sympatric chimpanzees, and under certain demographic situations gorillas, like sympatric chimpanzees, may adapt their foraging group size to reduce intragroup feeding competition. However, the fiber content of the lowland gorilla diet likely relaxes constraints on foraging party size and facilitates group cohesion relative to chimpanzees. Am. J. Primatol. 43:111–133, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.