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Article History

Received: 23 September 2023

Accepted: 3 October 2024

First Online: 28 October 2024

Declarations

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: In an effort to avoid influencing the behaviour of individuals and group, our study was purely non-invasive and involved only observations of naturally occurring spontaneous behaviour, with audio and video recordings taken from a minimum distance of five meters. No animal experiments were thus performed during our study. The study gorillas were well habituated to human observation before data collection, essential requirements to minimize stress to animals. All protocols were approved by the zoological directors of Apenheul Primate Park (Frank Rietkerk) and the Burgers’ zoo (Wineke Schoo), as our research adhered to the legal requirements of the Netherlands and followed the recommendations of the ‘Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986’, as published by the government of the United Kingdom, and the principles of ‘‘Ethical Treatment of Non-Human Primates’’, as stated by the American Society of Primatologists. This manuscript is compliant with the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research¹⁴⁷. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

: The authors declare no competing interests.