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Introduction
A silverback gorilla is a mature male mountain gorilla with silver saddles across his back and hips. The silverback is responsible for protecting and leading a troop of five to thirty mountain gorillas on where to migrate, forage for food and even rest. Mountain gorillas are one of the two subspecies of the Eastern gorilla found in the mountainous forest of East and Central Africa. Along with chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos, gorillas are considered one of the great apes.
Compared to other species of gorilla, mountain gorillas have thicker and longer fur. Like other great apes, they have longer arms than legs. They are terrestrial and quadrupedal primates, which means they spend more time on the ground than in trees and walk on four limbs. Despite their huge size, mountain gorillas can climb fruiting trees. With their thicker fur, they can live at high altitude and in colder climates. They inhabit the Albertine Rift cloud forest and the Virunga Volcanoes in Central Africa. They wander in home ranges of 10 to 15 square miles. Adult male mountain gorillas are called silverbacks because of the silver saddle running across their back and hips.
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Behavioral Traits and Characteristics
Despite their body strength, silverback gorillas are shy and gentle. They normally live in troops composed of 5 to 30 individuals. An adult silverback serves as the alpha and leader of the group. Aside from protecting the troop, the alpha silverback decides where to travel, forage for food and sleep. In order to scare away other animals, silverbacks stand erect on their hind legs, tear and throw plants, stomp their feet, strike the ground with their palms and drum their chests with their hands.
Since they are nomadic, they build new nests each day. A troop may be composed of several younger males, adult and juvenile females and infants. In terms of mating, the silverback is the only male allowed to mate with all of the females in a troop. Because of his size and strength, females choose to mate with him rather than other males in the group. When males reach sexual maturity, they tend to leave the troop and travel alone until they can form their own troop to lead. Unlike orangutans, silverbacks father the majority of the young in the troop.
Like other great apes, silverbacks are intelligent primates. They use a variety of vocalizations, gestures, facial expressions and body language to communicate with others. Where a mother dies or leaves the troop, the silverback looks after the young ones and allows them to sleep in his nest. They are typically quiet and shy unless an intruder confronts a silverback to take over the group. Most of the time conflicts are resolved through display and not actual fighting. To bond with his group, a silverback rests at midday and spends almost 13 hours sleeping. During this time, they forage, groom and play with members of the troop.
Mountain gorilla’s diet is high in tannins. Like all other gorilla species, mountain gorillas are herbivores and consume a plant-based diet of leaves, roots, bamboo, bark, bamboo shoots, as well as seasonal fruits and flowers. But, due to the high elevations at which mountain gorillas live, particularly in the Virunga Massif area, they consume less fruit than other gorilla species. As a result, their diet is high in tannins. In fact, these are the same compounds that make your daily cups of tea and coffee bitter. Just like drinking coffee will stain your teeth over time, the mountain gorillas’ teeth are stained to almost black by their high tannin diet.
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Mountain gorilla groups may have more than one silverback
Family groups of three of the four gorilla subspecies typically have only one adult male gorilla, known as a silverback. This silverback will act as the dominant individual in the group and make decisions about where to travel and when to stop, as well as protect the females and young gorillas. However, around 40% of mountain gorilla groups contain multiple adult silverbacks! In these groups, there is a hierarchy among the males, and there is still a single male who is dominant over all other individuals (called the dominant or alpha silverback). Because males don’t transfer between groups (unlike females), subordinate silverbacks in a group were born into that group and at some point decide if they will stay and try to inherit dominance or if they will strike out on their own and try to attract females away from other groups to form their own family. Subordinate silverbacks share the job of protecting and directing the group, and while dominant males generally sire the majority of offspring, some subordinate males also reproduce. The capacity of protecting his family and appetite reduces as he gets older. The smaller silverback gets trained by the father on the upcoming duties.
Recommended Gorilla Trekking Experience
