Gorillas' resilience to early life adversity.

Gorillas who experienced early life adversities but survived until the age of 6 did not suffer long-term consequences in adulthood, in contrast to what has been observed in other species. Researchers from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the University of Michigan found that gorillas who survived past age six were largely unaffected by difficulties they encountered as infants or juveniles. Gorillas have very tight-knit social groups and live in a resource-rich environment, which may contribute to their resilience to early life adversity. The study suggests that species similar to humans can have significant resilience to early life adversity.