A baby mountain gorilla is called an infant, born weighing about 4 and a half pounds. They are born vulnerable, similar to human babies, but they develop more quickly and start walking at the age of six months.
Infants breastfeed up to the age of 2.5 years and sleep in the same nests until they are 4-6 years old.
At around the age of about 4-6 years, infants cling to their mothers’ backs. The mothers are responsible for grooming, and infants in the group often play games with each other, such as wrestling and somersaults.
Baby mountain gorillas learn how to sit up straight at 3 months.
Infant gorillas develop into juveniles before they can become fully adults, at around the age of 10 years.
The females become sexually mature at around 8 years, before the adult males. Male adults develop a grey patch of hair on their back, becoming Silverbacks.
Female mountain gorillas have a low birth rate and produce offspring every 4-6 years when the infants can start to do things on their own.
They also have only 1-2 fertile days in a month, and it’s the females who seek out males for mating.
Mountain gorilla groups are led by a dominating Silverback that is responsible for all group activities, such as feeding, resting times, when to move, and where to sleep.
The Silverbacks also defend their groups, just like females can defend the young ones, even at the cost of their own lives.
A baby mountain gorilla is born with brownish hair covering its body except its face, palms, fingers, armpits, and the soles of their feet.
They start feeding lightly at about 3 years while still on breast milk.
Female gorillas have a gestation period of about 8-9 months. When male gorillas grow to the age of about 20 years and above, they usually challenge the dominating Silverback or leave the group with some members to form their own group, which often involves a fight, or they move as lone Silverbacks.
On a lucky day, you will meet a baby gorilla when gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo.
Gorilla FAQs & Information
- Why Can’t You Look or Make Eye Contact with a Gorilla?
- Why Silverback Gorillas Fight
- Importance of Mountain Gorillas
- What to do when a gorilla charges on you
- What is The Largest Species of Gorillas?
- What is a Group of Gorillas Called?
- What is the Mountain Gorillas Role in The Ecosystem?
- The Mountain Gorilla Defense Mechanism
- How to Provoke/Annoy a Gorilla
- How Gorillas Greet Each Other
- Do All Gorillas Become Silverbacks?
- Do Gorillas like Humans
- Do gorillas Eat of Kill Their Babies?
- Do Gorillas Eat Humans?
- Can you Tame a Gorilla
- Can you Own a Gorilla?
- Do Mountain Gorillas live in Families & Groups?
- How to Protect & Save Mountain Gorillas
- Why Gorillas Are So Strong
- How Many Humans Does it Take to Beat a Gorilla?
- How Do Gorillas Sleep?
- How Mountain Gorillas Communicate
- The Gorilla Life Cycle
- Do Gorillas drink water?
- Are Gorillas friendly & gentle to humans?
- Why do Apes, Gorillas beat their chest & sound hollow?
- Gorilla Threats: Why Mountain Gorillas were endangered?
- Why were Mountain Gorillas going extinct?
- What is a Silverback Gorilla?
- Gorilla Species: Different Kinds/Types of Gorilla & Breeds
- Mountain Gorilla Diet
- Mountain Gorilla Size, Average Height & Weight Measurements
- Natural Mountain Gorilla Predators
- Mountain Gorilla Population
- Lifespan of Mountain Gorillas
- Mountain Gorilla Natural Habitat
- Mountain Gorilla Conservation Efforts
- Mountain Gorilla Behavior
- How to Survive a Gorilla Attack on Humans
- Are Gorillas Dangerous to the People
- Why are Gorillas Poached in Africa
- How Gorillas Adapt to Rain-forest Environment
- Interesting Facts about Mountain Gorillas in Africa
- Traits, Qualities & Characteristics of Mountain Gorillas
- How Strong is a Silverback Gorilla?
- Best Place to See Mountain Gorillas in Africa
- Uganda Gorilla Families
- Rwanda Gorilla Families
- Congo Gorilla Families
