6. When he walks (and usually a family will travel about half a mile a day), the gorilla takes the main weight on his short legs and rests lightly on the knuckles of his hands at the end of his very long arms. When he stands upright a full-grown male rises to six feet, but with that immense chest he is far heavier than any normal man could ever be. Six hundred pounds is not uncommon. His strength is incredible -- certainly great enough to enable him to take a man in his hands and wrench his head off. The female is much smaller and lighter.
     7. Miss J. H. Donisthorpe, who recently made a study of gorillas in the Muhavura area, says that the animals have a strong smell which she describes as a mixture of human sweat, manure and charred wood. They have good eyesight but are probably deficient in both hearing and smelling. They appear to talk to one another, Miss Donisthorpe says, in high-pitched voices, not unlike that of a woman, or by smacking their lips or striking their cheeks, and the female, if alarmed, will scream. The male, on the other hand, is capable of making a frightening demonstration in the face of danger. He stays behind while his family gets away, rising to his feet and uttering a terrifying roar. Sometimes he will drum on his chest and shake the trees around him with every appearance of uncontrollable fury. In extremity he will charge.
     8. But all this, Miss Donisthorpe assured us, is no more than shadow boxing as a general rule, for the gorilla is a gentle, kindly creature, a most forgiving ape who lives at peace with all the other animals, and his reputation for savagery and belligerence is nothing but a myth. When the animal charges the thing to do is to stand your ground and look him in the eye. Then he will turn aside and slip away through the undergrowth.