Gorillas Hum Little Songs to Themselves While Eating Their Favorite Foods

Researchers observing wild and captive gorillas noticed something endearing: when a gorilla encounters food it finds particularly delicious, it will begin humming and singing to itself. These food-associated calls are distinct, individual-sounding vocalizations that vary from one gorilla to the next — and they tend to get louder the better the food is.

Scientists believe these food songs serve a social purpose. In gorilla groups, the sounds signal to nearby family members that something worth eating is nearby. It is essentially a review system made entirely of melodic grunts, and it appears to be voluntary — gorillas go quiet the moment they want to eat alone without sharing.

The really surprising part is that the songs vary by individual taste. One gorilla might hum enthusiastically over figs while barely murmuring at celery. Another might reserve its best performance for wild ginger. Gorillas, it turns out, have strong opinions about lunch.

This puts them in surprisingly good company. Humans do essentially the same thing — involuntary little hums of pleasure when food is genuinely excellent. The next time you catch yourself quietly moaning at a great meal, just know a gorilla somewhere completely understands.