Goodnight, gorillas!
December 22, 2015 8:17 AM Subscribe
Sleepy gorillas make their nests in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. You can visit these gorillas by going on a virtual gorilla trek in Democratic Republic of Congo!
This is more "dreams of gorillas" than "gorillas of my dreams."
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2015
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2015
So would you say this place is a Sleepytime Gorilla Museum?
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Wow, this is really neat and set the ol' mind wheels achurnin':
1) The detail of the thermal imaging is incredible! You can see mosquitoes. And their breath changing the temperature of their noses - that is so cool.
2) The researcher wanting to cuddle up with the silverback was so adorable. Passionate scientist = win!
3) It's becoming more and more obvious to me that evolution and sleeping habits are so very intertwined, particularly in mammals. I have a feeling my Xmas break is going to be about looking up various mass extinctions and what we know about sleeping habits of animals that died off and didn't die off. And I find it very interesting that evidence of nest building occurs ~20 m.y.a. Verrrry interesting indeed - that's the lead up to the Miocene climatic optimum with warming temps, but there's some other specific things going on around that time. Wonder what the error range is?
4) Now I'm wondering how human sleep patterns have adapted to not moving to a different place every night. Is insomnia related to that? Do other animals have insomnia? Do great apes have insomnia? If I set up a hammock in every corner of the house and moved around each night would I sleep better? What if we made our beds right before sleeping instead of first thing in the morning to mimic nest building? Is the height of the nest related to gorilla social anxiety or intro/extroversion? Why do I feel like it's a white patriarchal assumption that they radiate out from the silverback for protection? Maybe they're protecting him, hmmm? haha! Inquiring minds want to know everything!
posted by barchan at 10:00 AM on December 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
1) The detail of the thermal imaging is incredible! You can see mosquitoes. And their breath changing the temperature of their noses - that is so cool.
2) The researcher wanting to cuddle up with the silverback was so adorable. Passionate scientist = win!
3) It's becoming more and more obvious to me that evolution and sleeping habits are so very intertwined, particularly in mammals. I have a feeling my Xmas break is going to be about looking up various mass extinctions and what we know about sleeping habits of animals that died off and didn't die off. And I find it very interesting that evidence of nest building occurs ~20 m.y.a. Verrrry interesting indeed - that's the lead up to the Miocene climatic optimum with warming temps, but there's some other specific things going on around that time. Wonder what the error range is?
4) Now I'm wondering how human sleep patterns have adapted to not moving to a different place every night. Is insomnia related to that? Do other animals have insomnia? Do great apes have insomnia? If I set up a hammock in every corner of the house and moved around each night would I sleep better? What if we made our beds right before sleeping instead of first thing in the morning to mimic nest building? Is the height of the nest related to gorilla social anxiety or intro/extroversion? Why do I feel like it's a white patriarchal assumption that they radiate out from the silverback for protection? Maybe they're protecting him, hmmm? haha! Inquiring minds want to know everything!
posted by barchan at 10:00 AM on December 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
- Apes Reveal Secrets to Good Sleep.
- Link to the damn paywalled paper, "Orangutans (Pongo spp.) have deeper, more efficient sleep than baboons (Papio papio) in captivity
- Link to the damn paywalled paper that's the subject of the NYTimes article from Segundus, "Sleep Intensity and the Evolution of Human Cognition."
Let me know if someone wants access to either of those papers.
posted by ChuraChura at 10:10 AM on December 22, 2015
- Link to the damn paywalled paper, "Orangutans (Pongo spp.) have deeper, more efficient sleep than baboons (Papio papio) in captivity
- Link to the damn paywalled paper that's the subject of the NYTimes article from Segundus, "Sleep Intensity and the Evolution of Human Cognition."
Let me know if someone wants access to either of those papers.
posted by ChuraChura at 10:10 AM on December 22, 2015
Gordon Buchanan has made a whole series of these "X Family And Me" documentaries. He made an earlier one with black bears, then another with arctic wolves.
posted by Kevin Street at 10:53 AM on December 22, 2015
posted by Kevin Street at 10:53 AM on December 22, 2015
The resolution of that the thermal imaging footage is amazing.
posted by rmmcclay at 5:35 PM on December 22, 2015
posted by rmmcclay at 5:35 PM on December 22, 2015
What if we made our beds right before sleeping instead of first thing in the morning to mimic nest building?
If I don't make my bed in the morning after stripping the sheets to wash, that evening I absolutely loathe having to make the bed to get into it.
I want my nest pre-made, thank you.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:55 PM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
If I don't make my bed in the morning after stripping the sheets to wash, that evening I absolutely loathe having to make the bed to get into it.
I want my nest pre-made, thank you.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:55 PM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I just want to say thanks for sharing both of these excellent links. It's really exciting to see more people using nifty technology to learn about animals and to share that knowledge with the world. It's not only entertaining, it's an important component of conservation.
posted by ReginaHart at 2:34 PM on December 26, 2015
posted by ReginaHart at 2:34 PM on December 26, 2015
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posted by Segundus at 8:33 AM on December 22, 2015