The Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

A silverback gorilla has it made and life in the rainforest revolves around him.
The silverback is lord of his group and head of his family. His chief role is to protect his family from danger. He decides when, where and how fast they move camp, pacing the day’s travel to accommodate the sick or injured.
Silverbacks are impressive creatures weighing, on average, 180 kilograms.
And all it takes is a frown from him to end a squabble between females or to silence adventurous youngsters.
When it’s time to forage, he gives himself priority access to the most convenient feeding spots.
He will defend his entire family, especially his females, from being stolen by other solitary males. He is the only one to mate and produce within his harem of females.

The silverback and his family

Mountain gorillas form stable family groups which are led by the dominant silverback. Members consist of adult females, black-backs, sub-adults, juveniles and infants.
Also known as a ‘band’ of gorillas, a family can range in size from five to ten members but can often reach over 30 members.
In large families, a silverback’s harem can often be seen wrangling over who gets to groom him first.

For a female, ranking is everything – the higher your ranking within the group, the better your access to the silverback is.

A silverback does allow lower-status males to join his party where they play a useful role as sentries. When the dominant silverback eventually dies, one of these other males can quietly take-over. This male will most likely be the silverback’s son, born while the silverback is middle-aged, and maturing as his father’s power is fading.

Multi-male groups are also fairly common amongst mountain gorillas, the groups being made up of a father and his sons, or several brothers.

Female gorillas reach sexual maturity at around eight years of age. Often the silverback in their group is their father. To avoid inbreeding, females will then leave the group they were born into. They can transfer to another established group or link up with a strapping lone silverback who is setting up his harem. Gorilla reproduction is slow. The gap between infants is four years and infant mortality is high. In her lifetime a mother will raise between two to six offspring remaining fertile till the end of her life.

At around 12 years of age, a black-back will develop a distinctive “saddle” of silvery grey hair that extends from the back to the rum and thighs, hence the name “silverback”.

Infants are generally born at night and after a gestation period of 8½ months.
For the first three months infants are totally dependent on their mothers for just about everything.
At three months, they begin to walk and climb on and around their mother.
Exploring the environment takes on a new meaning
During the first six months baby gorillas develop about twice as fast as humans.

At this stage, it is the juveniles who express particular interest in their new siblings; however it is rare for infants to stray very far from their mother’s sides.
Weaning takes place at 3½ and as they grow, play takes on increasing importance. Over the next few years, social play tends to reflect the roles that each will assume as an adult.

Silverbacks are especially gentle towards their infants.

Young males play more often and more roughly than females, and prefer other males as playmates.
Females enjoy playing with males as a means of learning to negotiate life in the harem later on.
And if you have spent an hour amongst these magnificent creatures, nothing is more entertaining than being entertained by a bunch of rowdy juveniles.

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