Data from: Going to extremes for sodium acquisition: use of community land and high-altitude areas by mountain gorillas Gorilla beringei in Rwanda

Space use in mammals may be influenced not only by their primary foods, but also by localized sources of physiologically critical resources such as sodium-rich plants. We examined how sodium acquisition influences habitat use in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) in Rwanda which have increased the amount of time they forage on community land outside of Volcanoes National Park (VNP), where eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) tree bark is their most frequently eaten food. We measured sodium content in samples from 34 main dietary items and quantified sodium intake by 22 gorillas in three social groups over one-year. On a dry weight basis, eucalyptus bark contains 3100 mg Na/kg. In contrast, the four herbs most frequently exploited for food inside the park are relatively sodium-poor (