Book Now

Social Dynamics of Mountain Gorillas in Groups

Mountain gorillas are social animals that live in groups of 5 to 50 individuals, usually led by an adult male known as the Silverback, along with several other adult females and their offspring.

Although mountain gorillas primarily live in groups, some solitary males roam the forest on their own.

These solitary males may engage in fights with other groups in an attempt to acquire females or join female groups in situations where the Silverback has just died, leaving no heir to dominate the group.

Do mountain gorillas live in families?

The largest mountain gorilla family ever recorded was found in Rwanda, consisting of 65 individuals. When a group leader dies, the eldest son usually takes over the leadership.

Female mountain gorillas typically leave their birth groups and join solitary males to form a group or join another existing group before reproducing.

Once a female gives birth in a group, she usually remains with that group for the rest of her life.

The dominant male Silverback always has access to all the group’s females, and other males are not supposed to have access to any female within the group, as it can lead to fights between the dominant Silverback and other males.

After a gestation period of 8 and a half months, when a female gorilla gives birth, they take good care of their babies.

The infants cling to their mothers’ stomachs or backs and feed on breast milk until they reach the age of about 3-4 years old.

The females also take on the responsibility of weaning and grooming their babies. The babies sleep with their mothers in the same nests until a certain age when they can construct their own nests next to their mothers.

On average, a dominating Silverback leads a family for four to seven years. The dominating Silverback is responsible for protecting the group and will fight to ensure the group’s safety in case of any external attacks.

If a female mountain gorilla dies, leaving behind her baby, the Silverback will take care of the offspring and may even sleep with it in their nest.

Mountain gorilla families can disperse when a Silverback dies without leaving an offspring in the group.

The females may choose to join other gorilla families, or a lone Silverback may come and take over the group.

However, if the group has young males, the new Silverback may kill all the infants of the deceased Silverback to avoid competition.

Go gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo in Africa to meet gorillas in the wild.



Magical Gorilla Adventures TripAdvisor
Magical Gorilla Adventures Google Reviews
Uganda Tourism Board
Magical Gorilla Adventures TripAdvisor Travellers Choice

Why you should choose us?

We are beautiful one day and perfect the next! Book with us and book it out of here!

1

Who we are

We are a passion-drive travel agency that will make you love Africa even more than us.

Read more
2

Booking with us

We offer very flexible booking terms that you'll love. We make it easy for you to book or reschedule your trips.

Read more
3

Our promise to you

We promise you make you fall in love with Africa through our tailor-made safari holidays

Read more
4

Values & commitments

We are commited to offering you the best service as possible. Your experience & comfort always comes first.

Read more
5

Our cause

A small portion of our profits proceeds towards supporting single mothers in local communities.

Read more

How we work

To offer a more rewarding way to travel, we do stuff the right way; right from the planning process.

1
We pay attention

We will spend time and pay attention to your expectations, then propose an experience that you might like.

2
We complement

Next we will discuss our selected options, point out the best safaris for you and make awesome recommendations.

3
We hold your booking

We will tentatively hold your booking and make reservations while we talk through the safari details or make changes.

Speak to an expert to start planning your African safari holiday...

Give a call to one of our specialists or arrange a video meeting/session for awesome ideas and safari advice.

+256 787 23 0575
Eddie Safari Guide
Ronnie Safari Guide
×Chat with us