By 3.5 years of age, the young gorillas are fully weaned from their mothers milk and start the same diet as mature mountain gorillas: plants, leaves, roots and shoots.įully-grown male mountain gorillas can weigh up to 180 kg (400 lb). For the first four years of their lives, they get around by clinging to their mothers backs. They are as weak and uncoordinated as human babies. Newborn gorillas weigh about 1.8 kg (4 lb.) at birth. In general, they will bear between two and six offspring in a lifetime. They carry one or two babies at a time and give birth after a 8.5-month gestation period. They also father the majority of the young in the group.įemale mountain gorillas can produce young beginning at age 10. They schedule feeding trips, resting time, and travel. In addition to providing protection to group members, silverbacks maintain order and decide all activities within their troop. These troops also include several younger males, adult and juvenile females, and infants. The oldest males of the group are at least 12 years old.
These males are called silverbacks because of the silver stripe they develop on their backs when they mature. The group, or troop, is led by a single alpha male, an older silverback. Mountain gorillas live in groups of up to 30. Mothers will fight to the death to protect their young. They beat their chests and let out angry grunts and roars. But when threatened, they can be aggressive. Mountain gorillas are as shy as they are strong. The other group is spread over three national parks in the Virungas mountain region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. One group of gorillas lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Yet due to detrimental human activity, such as poaching, civil war, and habitat destruction, the mountain gorilla, a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has become the most endangered type of gorilla.Ĭurrently, the mountain gorilla’s habitat is limited to protected national parks in two regions of Africa. The mountain gorilla, a large, strong ape inhabiting Africa’s volcanic slopes, has few natural predators.
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