A baby mountain gorilla is called an infant. At birth, it weighs about 4 and a half pounds. Like human babies, they are born vulnerable, but they grow faster and start walking at around six months old.
Infants breastfeed until they are about 2 and a half years old. They sleep in the same nests as their mothers until they are between 4 and 6 years old.
Around the age of 4 to 6 years, infants begin to cling to their mothers’ backs. Mothers take care of grooming them, and the young gorillas often play together, wrestling and doing somersaults.
Baby gorillas learn to sit up straight by about 3 months old.
Infants grow into juveniles before becoming adults, usually by the time they are about 10 years old.
Female gorillas become sexually mature at about 8 years, earlier than males. Adult males develop a grey patch of hair on their backs and are called Silverbacks.
Female mountain gorillas have a low birth rate, giving birth every 4 to 6 years, which is when their infants become more independent.
Females have only 1 or 2 fertile days each month, and they are the ones who look for males to mate with.
Mountain gorilla groups are led by a dominant Silverback. He is in charge of group activities like feeding, resting, moving, and choosing where to sleep.
Silverbacks protect their groups, and females also defend the young, even risking their own lives.
A baby gorilla is born with brown hair covering its body, except for the face, palms, fingers, armpits, and the soles of the feet.
They start eating small amounts of food around 3 years old while still nursing.
Female gorillas have a pregnancy that lasts about 8 to 9 months.
When male gorillas reach about 20 years old, they often challenge the Silverback leader or leave the group with some members to form their own group. This can involve fights. Some males live alone as lone Silverbacks.
If you are lucky, you may see a baby gorilla.
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