> Thanks, DD. Does anybody know what plants they're eating there? --Marc
Not me, but just guessing, water lily, water hyacinth, some type of
African duckweed perhaps... oh, here's the gold:
http://www.africanconservation.org/dcforum/DCForumID10/41.html
"Gorillas come to Mbeli Bai to feed on the large-leafed,
protein-packed, aquatic plant Hydrocharis chevalieri that grows in the
floating mat of vegetation. Hauling themselves on two legs through
the thick mud, the gorillas wade waist-deep through small streams and
rivulets crisscrossing the bai. Some infants clamber onto their
mothers' shoulders; others, hanging on below their parents' bellies,
risk a dunking in the sludge. Groups may spend two to four hours
dredging up handfuls of the plant, vigorously washing off excess mud
before carefully selecting choice parts to munch from the tangle of
roots, stems, and leaves. All the while, they sink deeper into the
mud until **only their chests and heads are visible**".
