MOUNTAIN GORILLA GEOPHAGY - A POSSIBLE SEASONAL BEHAVIOR FOR DEALING WITH THE EFFECTS OF DIETARY-CHANGES

Geophageous Rwandan mountain gorillas excavate and eat weathered leuci te-rich regolith (subsoil C horizons) from the slopes of Mount Visoke in the Virunga Mountains. In the months of the dry season, the gorilla s reportedly ingest a halloysitic natural earth having a chemical comp osition similar to that of Kaopectate, a pharmaceutical used by humans to treat gastrointestinal upsets. Several plants known to contain pot ential toxins are consumed more heavily by gorillas in these months. N ew information from geochemical and mineral analyses suggests that geo phagy may alleviate intestinal problems associated with changes in the ir diet because the ingested weathered regolith, containing halloysiti c clay minerals, may act as a pharmaceutical agent that helps to adsor b toxins and to control dehydration in the dry season.