The season (rainy or dry) determines which kind of food is prevalent. They may also feed on fungi, flowers and bark. Mountain gorilla silverback diet is slightly different. They also love termites, ants and certain insects. This can consist of fruits, shoots and leaves. Silverback gorillas in general eat mainly plants. It is one reason why poachers and pet traders target the silverback if they wish to capture an infant. A silverback gorilla will defend his group and especially infants to the death. If all this doesn’t work and the threat or intruder hasn’t yet got the message, the silverback will attack directly and deliver a blow with the hands or teeth. The silverback will then make a mock attack using all four legs. If the above action doesn’t work, he will tear up and through plants at the intruder while making a deafening sound. He does this by standing up while drumming up his chest. When a silverback gorilla recognizes a threat or silverback from another group, he will first attempt to warn off the intruder. Intruders can mean males from other groups, stubborn members of his group, animals like leopards or humans visiting a group that is not habituated. A silverback gorilla only becomes aggressive when it encounters a threat, intruders or if he wants to assert dominance. He is always peaceful and rarely uses force. The dominant silverback gorilla leads by charisma and example. An angry silverback would beat the man to a pulp. Would a strong adult male have a change against a silverback in a duel? Whereas no fight has been recorded between an adult male and a silverback gorilla, it is obvious who the winner will be. Their body weight and incredible strength is all because of robusticity – meaning a higher ratio of muscle mass. Strength of a silverback gorilla?Ī fully grown silverback gorilla is about twice the weight of an adult man. They are over 9 times stronger than an adult male. Females leave the group upon reaching maturity to avoid mating with the father. A gorilla group contains several females, adolescents/juveniles, infants and some adult males. The dominant silverback controls a group containing between 5 to 35 individuals. Gorilla mating is often initiated by the female upon reaching maturity. He determines when to eat, rest and is entitled to mate with all the females in the group. The dominant silverback is the leader of the group and has absolute authority. Whereas it is possible to find several silverback gorillas in a group, there is only one dominant silverback. This arrangement is more common with mountain gorillas and rare with Western lowland gorillas.

They will stay loyal to the dominant silverback and help protect the group from intruders. It is important to note that some males never leave their original group on reaching maturity. If he fails to dethrone a leader of a particular gorilla family, he will attempt to steal females from that group to form his own. This is also the time when the hair down their back and across the shoulders becomes whitish or greyish in color.Ī mature and lone blackback or silverback will live close to a particular group and attempt to dethrone the dominant silverback as soon as he is strong enough. It is only when they become fully grown (at about 12 to 13 years of age) that they become silverbacks. At this point, they are still referred to as Blackbacks. This is the time most leave the group to leave alone or join other males. A male gorilla becomes an adult at about 8 years of age. Compared to a female, a silverback gorilla has a larger head, body and can weigh up to 270 kilograms. A silverback is much larger than a female. A male gorilla that is too old to be a juvenile but too young to be a silverback is referred to as a blackback. Silverback gorillas are distinguished by a grayish white hairline around the back and shoulders. Silverback doesn’t refer to a particular species of gorillas but a mature male gorilla. Gorillas live in groups or families led by a Silverback.

Silverback Gorilla – Size, height and lifespan Human diseases, habitat destruction and poaching for meat are the greatest threat to wild gorilla survival. This is because their numbers have reduced considerably in the last century. All subspecies of gorillas are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are currently over 300,000 Western lowland gorillas, 5000 Eastern lowland gorillas, 1,000 mountain gorillas and less than 400 Cross river gorillas.

Silverback gorilla fight