As field scientists, we don't
always see gorillas, so we look for clues that tell
us where the animals have been and what they were doing.
And when we do see gorillas, we systematically record
behavior we see or hear. One of the tools we use to
do this is an ethogram. By using an ethogram, we can
figure out how often and why gorillas do some of the
things they do.
Here's how you can chart your
own ethogram.
Print out the ethogram chart.
- Review the behaviors by
clicking the name of the behavior: knuckle-walking,
eating,
foraging,
baby
care, sleeping,
tree-climbing,
brachiating,
grooming
and playing.
- Based on what you have
learned, predict which behaviors you will see most
often and which you will see least often and write
your predictions on the spaces provided on the chart.
Think about why you made the predictions.
- Then, watch a video by
clicking an image on the right. As you watch each
video, make a mark on your ethogram each time you
see a behavior. Some behaviors are performed more
than once in the same video, some not at all. You
may want to watch each video more than once to improve
your accuracy.
- After you have watched
the videos and recorded the behaviors, add up the
number of times that you recorded each behavior. Enter
your results on the graph at the bottom of the ethogram.
- Did your predictions match
your results? Note on the chart which behaviors you
observed most often and which you observed least often.
When
you're finished, compare your results to mine.
Based on your observations what have you learned about
the behavior of gorillas?

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