Wild Gorillas Signal Using Odor

The image depicts the silverback on which the study was based. Credit: Michelle Klailova; CC-BY
The image depicts the silverback on which the study was based. Credit: Michelle Klailova; CC-BY

Silverback gorillas appear to use odor as a form of communication to other gorillas. Mammals communicate socially through visual, auditory, and chemical signals. The chemical sense is in fact the oldest sense, shared by all organisms including bacteria, and mounting evidence suggests that humans also participate in social chemical signaling. However, not much is known about this type of signaling in closely related hominoids, like wild apes.