A silverback gorilla nibbles on a nearby bush using his agile lips. He isn't dominant over his troop of about two dozen gorillas, but it seems he wants to be. At the moment, he has his eyes set on another male. This one hasn’t grown his silver hairs yet, but all the females are watching him. This can not happen if the silverback ever wants to mate and reproduce. The silverback raises his massive fists in the air, but the other male sees the attack coming and meets his fists in the air with his own. They both make a screaming sound as they try to strike each other furiously. They pause, but resume shortly. The silverback jabs and grabs the other’s thick, black fur, as if to tease him. By now other gorillas have rushed over to watch, and they
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They are usually around 1.8 kg. (4 pounds) when born, and cling to their mother’s fur and ride on their backs for the first two or so years of their lives. Males usually do not participate in offspring care although they sometimes socialize with them. When they can be off their mother's back (at about three years old) most of their day is spent playing, chasing one another, swinging from branches, climbing trees, and pestering their siblings. Human observers often describe how much like human offspring they are, saying the relation is surprising. But even before birth, the female has to reach sexual maturity at about 10 years old, but females are in heat for one or two days a month. She wants to mate with the healthiest, strongest male to have healthy offspring. There is no certain season for mating, as gorillas will mate year-round. Male gorillas will often fight to reproduce with females, but usually only the dominant silverback has the right to reproduce with females. After the gorillas reproduce, the female will be pregnant for 8.5 months on average. Births usually occur at night, at any time of the year. When young are done breastfeeding, they will have the diet of an adult, only lesser amounts of food (such as bark, grubs, fruit, stinging nettle,
They are usually around 1.8 kg. (4 pounds) when born, and cling to their mother’s fur and ride on their backs for the first two or so years of their lives. Males usually do not participate in offspring care although they sometimes socialize with them. When they can be off their mother's back (at about three years old) most of their day is spent playing, chasing one another, swinging from branches, climbing trees, and pestering their siblings. Human observers often describe how much like human offspring they are, saying the relation is surprising. But even before birth, the female has to reach sexual maturity at about 10 years old, but females are in heat for one or two days a month. She wants to mate with the healthiest, strongest male to have healthy offspring. There is no certain season for mating, as gorillas will mate year-round. Male gorillas will often fight to reproduce with females, but usually only the dominant silverback has the right to reproduce with females. After the gorillas reproduce, the female will be pregnant for 8.5 months on average. Births usually occur at night, at any time of the year. When young are done breastfeeding, they will have the diet of an adult, only lesser amounts of food (such as bark, grubs, fruit, stinging nettle,