From the time of their discovery in 1902, mountain gorillas have thrived through times of war, habitat destruction, diseases and hunting. The world’s smallest population of these human-like creatures (a sub-species of the eastern gorilla) is divided further into two unique sub-species. Almost three quarters of these gorillas dwell in the ranges of Virunga Mountains at the border of DRC, Uganda and Rwanda.
At the start of 20th century, it was believed that mountain gorillas had gone extinct due to a number of threats; however, the good news is that today a number of mountain gorillas can be seen in several parts of the world including Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable national park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National park and Congo’s Virunga national park.
Like their name suggests, mountain gorillas are mountain dwellers. They live in areas of an elevation ranging from 8000 feet to 13000 feet. In comparison to other apes, mountain gorillas have more fur which is meant to provide them with enough warmth in cold mountain temperatures which at times fall below freezing point. The continuous habitat encroachment by humans has made these gorillas move to higher and cooler parts of the mountains, this has exposed them to much threatening conditions but they have still endured and thrived.
Reproduction.
Mountain gorillas live in groups characterized by many females than males. Males are perceived as superior due to their ability to protect the group and strength in fighting. This makes males attract as many females as possible and it is the male’s responsibility to mate with all females in his territory.
Mating System.
Mountain gorillas are more like human beings not only in structure but also in lifestyle. They do not have fixed breeding season. Female mountain gorillas menstruate after every twenty eight days and give birth to young ones of approximately two kilograms after the 9th month of pregnancy.
Gorilla babies are nursed for about three to four years. Female gorillas give birth at an interval of 4-5 years. They usually begin giving birth at the age of ten. On the other hand, off springs which survive are produced once every six to eight years due to high mortality rate. Because of physical competition for mating partners, males rarely breed before they reach the age of 15.
Mothers play a bigger role in raising their young ones and suckle them from zero years up to about three or four years. They are fond of carrying these infants; which is always difficult for mothers having two babies and the only option they have is letting one baby die. By their third birthday, baby gorillas have already learnt crawling and clinging to mothers on their own.
Young gorillas remain dependent on their mothers until the age of three or four; mothers provide them with food, carry them and protection within the family. With exception of protecting young gorillas from exploitation by other young males who might be interested in taking over the group, adult males have nothing much to do with baby gorillas.
Lifespan/Longevity.
Captive gorillas have been seen living until almost 50 years unlike wild gorillas whose lifespan ranges between the age of 30 and 40 because of the many threats they get exposed to.
Behavior
Unless they are threatened, mountain gorillas are generally peaceful, shy and amiable creatures. On the other hand, in effort to brag about their strength and intimidation, male gorillas are fond of beating their chests with fists. In case of annoyance, gorillas growl loudly and become dangerous. They at times become aggressive and charge towards any perceived intruders much as they rarely hit the intruder, they just rush past and may charge again.
Each family being dominated by a male gorilla/silverback, each social group comprises of at least 5 and at most 55 members per group. The silverback gets its name from the grey hair that grows on its back when it grows older. Silverbacks carry dominion responsibilities until death or upon overthrow by another male. The displaced silverbacks resort to living a lonely/solitary life until death.
Like the common law of the jungle suggests; “survival for the fittest/ kill in order not to be killed”, gorillas live a life of fighting especially males/silverbacks. It is a newly dominant male’s primary responsibility to prove its supremacy and ability to protect the group in the event of displacing the old silverback. The first step in doing this is killing infants in the group in effort to ensure its safety from upcoming black backs who may be interested in taking over. This earns the silverback respect and love from female members.
It is the responsibility of a silverback to make a hooting sound in case there is need for alertness. Mountain gorillas travel in groups for quite a number of months much as they do not have to travel over long distances due to the abundance of food in the areas they dwell. It is on such grounds that gorillas find no need of exhibiting territorial defensive efforts and usually ranges of neighboring groups overlap.
Mountain gorillas are fond of building nests from branches, they use leaves for cushion on the ground or in trees. Taking clear views in the branches of trees, lightweight gorillas are usually seen swinging within; this is also known as “brachiating”.
Predation.
Predation is not a common habit among gorillas primarily because of their imposing size. Young gorillas fall victims of carnivores like lions and leopards, but rarely. At times, baby gorillas are attacked by males (infanticide) of their species.
