Not all gorillas become silverbacks; only male gorillas become silverbacks as they mature. The female gorillas and young males don’t develop silver hair on their backs, so they can’t be called silverbacks.
The male gorillas that are mature but have not yet developed silver hair are called blackbacks until they develop that patch of hair. Only then can they be called silverbacks.
You can see them when on gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda, Rwanda, or DR Congo.
Silverback gorillas are called so because they develop a saddle-shaped area of silver hair on their backs when they reach sexual maturity, at about the age of 12 years old. The grey hair is for display and communication to other gorillas that they are mature males.
Silverbacks are also known to be the hairiest of all other gorillas. They are also very large, standing 5.5 to 6 feet tall when they stand upright.
A mature silverback can weigh up to 350 pounds and has a large bony crest on the tops of their skulls and backs, giving their heads a conical shape.
Silverbacks are always responsible for taking care of the group, including protection from predators. The silverback makes decisions on where to forage for food, where to sleep, and also where the family travels every day.
The dominating male in the family is the only one that can mate with all the group females, and the females choose him for his size and strength.
The upcoming males normally leave the group and become lone males for some time until they form their own family, or they may fight the dominating silverback in order to take over the group.
When a silverback gorilla dies abruptly, the next mature male will take over the group’s leadership.
If there is no other silverback in the group, it will be dispersed unless another lone silverback comes to take over the leadership. The new silverback sometimes kills all the other male infants of the former silverback to avoid being threatened when they grow up.
A silverback from within the group can also challenge and fight the dominating silverback, usually resulting in a brutal fight leading to the old silverback leaving the group or the rising silverback being abandoned by the group.
In conclusion, not all gorillas become silverbacks; only males become silverbacks at around the age of 12 years old.
