Gorillas' skeletal secrets The bones of gorillas, our closest animal ancestors, offer clues to the evolution of osteoporosis—and how we might be able to avoid it By Erika Engelhaupt / Published Winter 2020 In the heart of the Rwandan city of Musanze, Christopher Ruff stepped off a street bustling with mopeds and bicycles and into the quiet of a mausoleum. In the lobby, he found himself face to face with two skeletons: an adult human and, to its right, a full-grown mountain gorilla with a broad chest and thick bones. It was an apt starting point since those were just the species he planned to compare.