Have you ever wondered how gorillas sleep in their natural habitats? Gorillas are one of the Great Apes in East, West and Central African rainforests sharing about 98% of DNA with humans. Given the fact that they are our close cousins, you might have pictures of how their natural habitats are organized for night routines. Therefore, here is how gorillas nest.
Gorillas spend nights in nests that are made/built in trees or grounds and are made of tree branches, leaves and grass. Interestingly, it is possible to determine the size of a gorilla group by counting abandoned nests. Also, the materials used in making nests depends on a number of variables that include; prevailing security situation and nature of vegetation in their natural environment.
New gorilla nests are constructed each evening, although they are sometimes a stone throw from the nests used during previous nights. Interestingly, regardless of how the nests are close to each other, these Great Apes will still make and sleep in new nests each night. This exceptional nest constructing behavior makes it easier for Ranger guides taking tourists through gorilla treks or researchers to predict the size of gorilla family and determine the overall population of gorillas.
There are no cases of individual gorillas sharing nests because each individual builds his/her own nest with exception of infants that spend overnight in the same nest as their mothers. Given the fact that young gorillas still don’t possess the skillset to make their own nests and still vulnerable to sleep alone, they have to spend overnight in the same nest as their mothers. However, they become independent from four years old hence able to make individual nests and it is also during this time that the mother now has another baby.
About 30 minutes prior to getting dark, the gorillas settle in their new nests although midday rest nests are sometimes built by these endangered creatures, especially for infants who enjoy a lot of afternoon napping.
How are Gorilla Nests constructed?
To construct their ground nests, gorillas need about 5-10 minutes and try as much as possible to pull branches of trees, bushes and other pants into the center. These building materials are then layered and anchored into each other. The nest rim is made by bending other plants and parts while the tree nests are mainly constructed in forks of tree branches or matching structures. With gorillas’ high level of intelligence, they build nests that can accommodate their sizes and weight. In most cases, the young and female gorillas prefer constructing nests in trees while it is rare to see silverbacks in tree nests. Tree nests are mainly built to protect Great Apes from potential predators.
One thing you will learn about Great Apes including humans is that they enjoy sleeping in comfortable places in the night. Humans curl up warm beddings (bed sheets and blankets) but primates including gorilla, chimpanzees and Bonobo will look out for comfortable materials in their natural environment to serve as beddings.
On the duration of sleep at night, gorillas normally begin making nests before sunset and in time to retire to their beds before dark. The entire night is spent in the nest (as it is the case with humans) although these creatures even sleep longer than their close relatives (humans), usually averaging to 12 hours a night.
Best time to see gorillas.
The Best time to see gorillas is the dry season – from June to August and December to February much as gorilla trekking adventures are conducted all year round. Why is the dry season the best? Well, gorilla treks are not disrupted or delayed by downpours as it is the case in wet season, in addition to trekking trails being drier and more comfortable. However, this doesn’t mean that gorilla treks will be cancelled because even after rains, the planned treks will still go on.
