FOOD OF GORILLA 245 



In sleeping, the habit of the gorilla is to lie upon the 

 back or side, with one or both arms placed under the head 

 as a pillow. He cannot sleep on a perch, — as we have 

 already noted, — but lies upon the ground at night. I had 

 pointed out to me the place at the base of a large tree 

 where a school of them had slept the night before. One 

 imprint was quite distinct. The stories told about the king 

 gorilla, or ikomba, placing his family in a tree while he sits 

 on watch at the base is another case of supposition. 



The food of the gorilla is not confined to plants and 

 fruits. He is fond of meat and eats it either raw or 

 cooked. He secures a supply of this kind of food by 

 catching small rodents of various kinds, lizards, toads, etc. 

 It is also well known that he robs the nests of birds, taking 

 the eggs or the young. A native once pointed out to me 

 the quills and bones of a porcupine which had been left by 

 a gorilla who had eaten the carcass. It is not at all rare 

 for them to do this. The fruits and plants upon which 

 they chiefly live are acidulous in taste, and some of them 

 are bitter. They often eat the fruit of the plantain, but 

 they prefer the stalk of that plant ; this they twist or break 

 open and eat the succulent heart. They do the same with 

 the batuna, which grows all through the forest. The fruit 

 of this plant is a red pod filled with seeds imbedded in a 

 soft pulp. It is slightly acid and astringent. The wild 

 mangrove, which forms a staple article of food for the 

 chimpanzee, is rarely if ever eaten by the gorilla. I once 

 saw a gorilla try to seize a dog, but whether or not it was 

 for the purpose of eating the flesh I cannot say. One, how- 

 ever, did catch and devour a small dog on board the steamer 



