Gorillas and Opposable Toes

Gorilla bodies are awesome. They've got opposable toes; what would be the big toe is more like a thumb, allowing gorillas to grip with their feet. Imagine what skilled climbers we humans could be if we could use our hands to grip the upper branch, and our feet to wrap all the way around a lower branch. That's one thing a gorilla has over us: climbing capability. Additionally, their arms are longer, proportionally,  than ours which comes in handy when they are romping around on all fours.

I love how the moms lounge around with their babies. They'll  just stick a foot right up in the air and then reach up the arm, and hold hands with their own foot as seen here. And the babies will lie on the warm belly and stretch out, or work the neck muscles, or try to figure out how to employ their sweet little  hands.  Such is the after-meals routine of the gorilla mom and baby. Eat. Relax. What a life.  Here we have a full view of Olympia and Apollo, while Jamani, who is nursing little Bomassa, has her back to the visitors.