Facts About Silverback Gorillas

Facts About Silverback Gorillas: The silverback is the male gorillas which develop a silver coat on its back as it ages at around 15 years old. Mountain gorillas reside in patriarchal groups, and the silverback is the leader of the family, along with a number of females usually related and infants. The social lives of the great apes can be equated with those of simple human families. Here are Important Facts About Silverback Gorillas You Should Know.

Silverbacks can be found in both the eastern and western gorilla subspecies, though they are typically most well-known among the mountain gorillas that live in high-altitude forests. When a male becomes a silverback, he will often begin to lead a troop and defend its members.

The Largest Living Primates on Earth

Silverback gorillas are the largest living primates in the world. The weight of adult males ranges from 135 to 220 kg (300 to 485 pounds), and they can reach 1.7 m (5.6 feet) in height when standing up. With a wingspan of more than 2.3 m (7.5 ft), they roll and weave through the forest with such efficiency on knuckle-walking.

Silverbacks are usually calm creatures despite their intimidating size and great power. Their physical strength is used more for protection and dominance than for aggressive attacks.

Natural Leaders of Gorilla Families

Silverback gorillas are the natural leaders and protectors of silverback families, and their survival, the stability of their families, and the very nature of their social lives depend on them. They are led by one dominant adult male, known as a silverback, whose strength, experience and leadership provide protection and guidance for the whole family group on a daily basis.

Silverbacks are family-oriented primates

Silverback gorillas are intensely family-based primates, residing in closely bonded groups termed as troops. These groups include one silverback, a number of adult females and their young. The silverback has a very important role to play in the life of the family as a hunter and a caretaker.

Observing how these animals interact with each other in a troop, it is an amazing sight. Just like us, gorilla young have to learn what is necessary for survival by playing and spending time with their elders. The females are said to contribute to nursing infants and to creating a cooperative atmosphere.

These complex patterns of relationship reveal surprising social intelligence and emotional complexity in one of the largest animals on earth, making them all the more intriguing creatures to investigate and gaze upon.

Silverbacks are vegetarian.

One of the most important facts about silverback gorillas is that, for all their frightening size, they are committed vegetarians. They eat mostly stems, bamboo shoots and fruits. But the fruit availability is restricted by the altitude of their living area, and these silverback gorillas are quite creative when it comes to gathering fruits.

Adult male silverback gorillas are notable consumers, feeding on more than 18 kilograms of vegetation a day. Their astonishing strength allows them to easily split trees and logs to reach the soft insides, or pith (such as from a banana tree)

Interestingly, these silverback gorillas also clean up after themselves. They do not strip a particular area of food to exhaustion, letting plant life recover rapidly. This eco-conscious way of eating feeds into the well-being of the landscape, and this is only one of many important mountain gorilla facts.

Silverback gorillas pound their chests to communicate

Silverback gorillas pound their chests to send messages with different meanings, physical dominance, aggressiveness, happiness or just playfulness. This famous walking pattern isn’t just for intimidation; it is a complex form of communication between these smart apes.

When the silverback is standing on his two legs and pounding his chest with his cupped hands, it will make a booming noise that can be heard for over a mile. The stunning performance has several meanings. Mainly, it’s to scare off other males and menace strangers. It can also be a way for silverbacks to attract potential mates and prove their strength to females.

Recent research has also shown that the pitch of the chest beat is also correlated with the gorilla’s size, with larger males producing lower frequencies. This helps other gorillas to estimate the size and power of the subject and determines how they interact with it within their society.

Silverback mountain gorillas are endangered.

Silverback mountain gorillas, these majestic creatures, face a grave threat of extinction. In recent decades, their numbers have been severely reduced by a complex of factors, including loss of habitat, disease outbreaks, and poaching.

The forests that are their home are being reduced as commercial logging and farming are increasingly infringing on their range. The result is that gorillas are forced into ever more untenable living conditions. Also, die-offs from disease, such as the devastating Ebola outbreak that struck the mountain gorilla population in Congo in 2002 and decimated 95% of it, are a huge threat to their continued existence.

In 1994, a similar disease epidemic annihilated an entire gorilla community in Gabon.
One of the greatest threats to gorillas, although less visible, is poachers, who hunt the great apes illegally to sell to wealthy collectors as trophies or pets. Sadly, some gorillas are killed unintentionally, in snares meant for other wildlife.

Fortunately, conservationists’ efforts, led by world-renowned primatologist Dian Fossey, have brought global attention to the situation of these stunning primates. These recent successful breeding programmes have resulted in the population of gorillas increasing sufficiently for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to change the status of the species from critically endangered to endangered.

They rarely drink water.

Did you know that silverback gorillas don’t have to drink water very often? This fascinating fact stems from their diet of succulent vegetation rich in moisture, and their habit of licking morning dew off leaves.

These peaceful, massive creatures can eat up to half of a day; they get their water intake from the food. Their survival is an extraordinary testament to the adaptability of life on this planet, and this, too, is a truly unique adaptation. Even for the famous primatologist who spent her life observing mountain gorillas, Dian Fossey, their obvious dislike of rain serves to further stress how they avoid water at all costs, more so than they do with their food.

Silverback Gorillas Are Remarkably Close to Humans

When you compare what we know of human behaviour with that of the silverback gorilla, it quickly becomes apparent how much they live like us. They are our closest living animal relatives, and they provide a lens through which to examine human evolution, emotion and social behaviour.

The intelligence of gorillas, their methods of communication and their family ties have always been of great interest to scientists and researchers.

One of the most astonishing facts about silverback gorillas is that they have about 98% of their DNA in common with humans. Such genetic proximity is the reason why a variety of surprisingly humanoid patterns emerge among gorillas, be it facial expression or emotional state.
Humans and gorillas can also catch each other’s diseases, such as respiratory illnesses.

Discovering the important facts about the silverback gorilla will make you want to come and see them in the wild. Gorilla trekking also gives you the chance to see their smarts and close family ties on a rare up-close visit, supporting the conservation. Travel responsibly, safeguarding their future, and you’ll be rewarded with unforgettable memories of these incredible, gentle giants.