Gorillas’ chest beats may reveal how big they are

Chest beats made by larger males were ‘significantly lower’ than those made by smaller males, researchers found

The researchers believe that chest beating may also help in assessing the fighting ability of rivals (PA)

The chest-beating of mountain gorillas could be designed to indicate size and help in assessing the fighting ability of rivals, experts believe.

Researchers found that audio frequencies of the chest beats made by larger adult silverback gorilla males were “significantly lower” than those made by smaller males.

The experts from Germany observed and recorded 25 wild gorillas at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and were able to calculate the body size of each gorilla by measuring the distance between their shoulder blades.