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Gorillas are powerful apes that behave similarly to humans. They are the closest cousins to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos. But gorillas are currently an endangered species, and their population is continuing to dwindle.


A baby gorilla sleeping on its mother’s back

Physical Traits

Gorillas are easily identifiable because they walk with the support of their knuckles. They are very large animals. Males weigh 300–400 pounds, and females weigh 150–250 pounds. Mature adult males are often called silverbacks because they have silver hair that runs down their backs to the hips. All gorillas are dark, but the mountain gorilla has the darkest, thickest hair.


Species of Gorillas

All gorillas in the wild live in the forests of Central Africa. Gorillas can be divided into two species, each of which can then be broken into two subspecies. The western gorillas consist of the western lowland gorilla and the Cross River gorilla. The eastern gorillas include the mountain gorilla and eastern lowland gorilla.


These species share many common traits, but they do exhibit slight differences. The species differ in size, hair color, facial width, and social habits. The species all lived together until 261,000 years ago. Then the western and eastern lowland populations split away from each other and evolved into their own forms.


Family and Diet

Gorillas spend their day resting, feeding, traveling, and socializing. They eat leaves, fruit, insects, and enough vegetation to obtain sufficient hydration without relying on water. Gorillas live in families, known as troops. Gorilla troops are made up of one male silverback over the age of twelve and multiple adult females and children.

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Questions
Why is a descriptive text structure effective for this text?


It allows the author to compare the similarities and differences between gorillas and other endangered species.


It allows the author to prove why gorillas are the most important animal in the world.


It allows the author to provide the reader with details, examples, and characteristics of gorillas.


It allows the author to explain the evolution of gorillas chronologically throughout time.

Answer 1

It allows the author to provide the reader with details, examples, and characteristics of gorillas.

(The passage focuses on physical traits, species differences, behavior, and diet — all descriptive information.)