How do they Know a Baby Gorilla’s Father After it is Born?

There are many ways but according to the researchers, a part of their research is gorilla poop! You may be asking why? Since there are groups with more than one silverback (potential fathers), they can’t always be sure who the father is. But when faeces pass through the intestinal tract, they pull somebody cells with them, and those cells contain the full genome of a particular gorilla individual. Therefore, researchers use the faecal samples as a genetic analysis to find out or be sure who the father is.

Do Male Gorillas (Silverbacks) have Paternal Instincts?

According to the researches done in many gorilla families, paternal instincts in gorillas are rarely showcased. A gorilla infant is deeply dependent on its mother for the first several years of life, especially when it comes to feeding, warmth and constant protection.

However, the gorilla father-offspring bond normally occurs when the gorilla mother prematurely leaves the group through either a transfer to another gorilla family or death. In circumstances like this, their bond can become unusually strong, as the silverback may step in as the infant’s surrogate mother. When a gorilla infant loses its mother within the first or second year of life, chances for its survival are extremely low. However, if the gorilla infant has graduated from infant to juvenile (around the age of 3) by the time of separation, it has chances of survival.

Amazingly, in such a situation, researchers have observed that these gorilla infants tend to forge a bond with a silverback rather than with other females in the group. These are the times when you see a special relationship between silverbacks and their offspring. Such situations have created memorable pairs over the course of the mountain gorilla monitoring conducted by the Fossey Fund’s Karisoke Research Center.

Young animals always search out the group leader who usually is their father as well. They frequently stay close to him, they lean on him and include him in their games. For them, a close relationship with their father can be vital. He protects the infants and his care increases their chances of survival if their mother dies or if she leaves the group. In such a case the silverback male is usually the only one who looks after them intensively. He even allows them to sleep in his nest.

A silverback considers those babies who are born during his group leadership as his offspring; usually, this is true because he tries to prevent matings between younger males and oestrous females (if a group contains several silverbacks, it is more complicated, however).

Another opportunity for a father to help his offspring is the removal of wire snares which entrap them. He can remove them with his canines. Dian Fossey recorded a case where everything hinted to the snare having been removed by the group’s leader.

On the other hand, silverbacks have been observed to deliberately kill babies – especially in mountain gorillas. Usually, this is the case after a female transferred to another male together with her baby or if a new leading male takes over. This behaviour, called infanticide, is interpreted as a means to shorten the time until the baby’s mother becomes fertile again and the new male can sire his own offspring with her.

The life Cycle of Gorillas

The life cycle of gorillas is similar to the human life cycle in stages, although not in times. The first stage is childhood and ranges from birth until about five months old. At three years starts the juvenile stage; they are no longer infants, but they are not adults either. At about ten years old or when they reach sexual maturity, gorillas enter adulthood.

Gorillas will give each other nose-to-nose greetings and gestures of reassurance such as embracing or touching.

Social Structure of Gorillas

Gorillas are non-territorial and live in groups called troops or gorilla families that generally consist of silverbacks, some juvenile males (called black backs), several adult females and young. However, the oldest and strongest adult male silverback is usually dominant in the troop and has exclusive breeding rights to the females. Uganda has over 19 habituated gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and 1 in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. These families are open to tourists interested in gorilla trekking in Uganda safaris. Book your permit now!!!

Females

Adolescent females transfer to other gorilla families before reproducing at around 8 years of age. Usually, the first gorilla family where a female gives birth to an infant becomes her permanent family.

A female gorilla’s status or rank a particular gorilla family is generally determined by the order in which she was recruited into the family or troop.

Late arrivals do not receive the benefits of high ranking females such as having their offspring remain close to the dominant silverback for protection. That’s why females most often join a lone silverback so they start a new gorilla family rather than a long-established one where she will not benefit.

Males

Adolescent male gorillas often split from their parent families due to lack of breeding opportunity. Usually, the adolescent males remain solitary until they form their own troop. The separation process from its gorilla family takes several years and begins by the juvenile male separating himself just outside from the troop. As time progresses, his distances increase from the parental group.

Gorilla Family Numbers

A Gorilla family usually ranges from 2 to 12 individuals with 9 being the average. There are usually wrangles in families with numbers more than this. As time goes on the end up separating or splitting into smaller groups. If a gorilla family consists of more than 1 silverback, they are usually the sons of the dominant adult male silverback. One of the largest gorilla troops identified had 4 silverbacks, 5 black backs, 12 adult females, and 16 young.

Mountain gorilla families have a home range between 4-25 km2 (1.5-9.7 miles2).

Social Behavior

Silverbacks are characteristically more aggressive than other family members since protecting the gorilla family is their responsibility. The silverback is responsible for all group decisions, the calls receive the dominant portion of food (even when resources are limited) and are capable of terminating troublesome behaviour with just a look.

A male gorilla must have an established home range and great strength to confront any rival before acquiring his own troop. Therefore most silverbacks are usually solitary for about 4 years and turn 15 before acquiring a troop of their own.

Daily Activity of Gorillas

The feeding or foraging activity of gorillas peaks during the first 3 to 4 hours of the day. After feeding, gorillas usually rest period during midday until the mid-late afternoon when feeding resumes.

Gorillas move about 400-1,000 meters (0.24-0.60 mi.) per day which is about 88-219 miles per year.

Gorillas construct nests where they sleep at the end of the day. They gather vegetation around them from trees or from the ground to make these nets. Gorillas always construct a new nest each night because they travel to different locations during the day. These nests help keep the gorillas off the cold ground, prevent them from slipping down a slope or support them in a tree during the night.

According to research, the daily construction of new nests also helps gorillas to avoid parasites that may attack their nests.

Baby gorillas or Gorilla infants sleep in their mother’s nest until they are about 3 years of age. However, offspring start practising nest building at about 8 months. Researchers can identify the size, age, activity and make-up of a gorilla family based on their nests.

Individual Behavior of Gorillas

Gorillas build nests to sleep in and the presence of sufficient nesting material determines the location in which they bed. Nest construction varies but usually consists of bent/broken vines and branches formed around and underneath each individual.

Gorillas most often walk quadrupedally (four-footed) with limited bipedal (two-footed) movements. Gorillas and chimpanzees have a distinctive walk called knuckle-walking. The walk derived its name because they walk on their knuckles, not on their palms.

Gorillas usually travel short distances in per day when there is ample food supply since they have a slow pace and relatively large body size which makes it difficult to travel extensively.

Protection and Care of Gorillas

The dominant silverback is responsible for the protection and safety of the troop. When in a threatening situation, the silverback will ferociously beat its chest, produce loud scowling vocalizations and a pungent odour (which humans can detect from over 25 yards away), throw vegetation and charge at its opponent or intruder. Researchers have discovered that 99% of their charges are bluffs; providing the rest of the troop time for retreating to a safe distance. However, if pressed, the silverback will follow through with his threat.

Courtship and Mating in Gorillas

Naturally, gorillas are polygamous animals. By nature, male gorillas easily recognize female gorillas when they are on heat (available to mate). However, the external signs are not as evident as those of female chimpanzees, which get a swelling in the genital region easy to note.

Just like it is in humans, there is no specific mating season for gorillas. Gorillas mate any time of the year. Female gorillas normally experience heat for 1 or 2 days each month after maturity. Females are the ones who attract male gorillas with body movements: initially, slowly and leisurely they approach the “silverback” with uninterrupted eye contact while crumpling their lips and then they have to assess the male response to take the next step. If the male courted do not react at her insinuation, she gets closer and can even touch him. If this still does not work, she hardly hit the ground in a final attempt to draw his attention once and for all.

Usually, only the “silverback” leader has the right to mate with the females.

In case a male perform the courtship, the purpose is the same: attract a female to mate with her, for that, he gets closer to touch her and emit sounds. In groups with several males, females may be forced to copulate with more than one, but usually, only the “silverback” leader has the right to mate with a female.

After courtship, they copulate on the ground. Until recently it was believed that only humans and bonobos mated face to face but now is known that gorillas are also able to do it.

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When to go, what to wear & Cost of a gorilla trekking Permit 

Gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda Rwanda and Congo start at 8:00 am every morning. Uganda, Rwanda Congo gorilla safaris last between 30 minutes to several hours depending on where gorillas are located that day. Each day, the gorilla family is visited by a group of eight people for an hour. A gorilla trekking permit in Uganda will cost $700 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African residents. A Rwanda gorilla safari trekking permit costs $1500 for foreign residents and $400 in Congo.

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