Silverbacks are the dominant leaders of the group.Ī silverback heads a group of about 5 to 30 gorillas and its always the center of attraction may be because of its unique features. Those referred to as black back are males with age less than 12. Its also has large canine teeth that also grow with age. Normally it should be about 12 years old and it called so because of the color of the back its turns silver with age. Stewart. Gorilla Society: Conflict, Compromise, and Cooperation Between the Sexes. University of Chicago Press, 2008.īioExpedition Publishing © 2017.All you need to know about silverbacks : A Male Gorilla Is Called A Silverback. Grooming among gorillas is important, but not as important as in other primates.Īlexander H. Gorillas build nests in different locations, a new one every day as gorillas do not sleep in the same place two consecutive nights since they keep moving while foraging, and they do not stay at the same location for more than one day to avoid depleting their food sources. Later they resume the search for food and at the end of the day, before nightfall, they build nests in the trees or on the ground to sleep at night. During the morning and afternoon, they focus on their food, and they take a nap at noon. Adult females are usually not related to each other, and it is common to compete to be near the leader, as this provides further protection to them and their offspring. Gorillas do not sleep in the same place two consecutive nights. But in the case of the eastern lowland gorilla groups ( Gorilla beringei graueri), female gorillas can stay in the same place waiting until a new dominant male arrives and protect them. If the leader dies, the other males take the opportunity to mate with the females available and can become the next leader. If one or more unrelated females join a lone individual, a new social group that increases over time is created. Some mature males may try to beat the head of a group to become the new leader. Some males may venture to defeat the leader to become the new one.
The exception occasionally occurs in mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei) groups where blackbacks can stay in their birth group even so they have a subordinate role to the dominant “silverback”. Males have to do it to avoid a conflict with the dominant leader for the females, and they must leave to avoid the dominant male to mate up with their female descendants and prevent crossbreeding. Typically, both females and males leave the group in which they were born and join other after reaching sexual maturity. Therefore, the first arriving has a higher status than newcomers, and so on. Sometimes, several single males get away from the group and decide to travel together.īreeding females organize in a hierarchy, according to the time in which they joined the troop. In some groups, another adult male can function as second in command, but always subordinated to the leader, and in particular cases, several “silverback” can cohabit and handle support. It also has the exclusive right to mate with females. Their tasks are: taking decisions, resolve conflicts, defend the group against the enemies, produce offspring, find new sites to feed, define the home area, when to eat, sleep, and so on. It is the oldest, usually an adult over 12 years of age, and the strongest, the one that becomes the master since it has the great responsibility to protect all members of his group.
#MALE SILVERBACK GORILLA PATCH#
However, all males get that hair patch on their back when they reach maturity, but only one becomes the leader. The “Silverback” who leads a group, is easily recognized by a patch of silvery fur that covers its back. In average, groups have between 2 and 12 members and move around an area of 4 to 25 square kilometers.Īll males get the silvery hair patch on their back when they reach adulthood, but only one of them becomes the leader. Their composition varies over time due to events like the death of the young and the migration of individuals when they reach sexual maturity. Groups of western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) appear to be smaller: up to 5 individuals. The troops are typically composed of 2 to 30 members from which 1 to 4 are male adults, and the rest are blackbacks, adult females, and their offspring. Males protect females and the offspring of the group, and in turn, the dominant male can access the females that are in heat. Similar to other primates, they are very social animals that live in groups. Furthermore, since they continually travel in search of food, they cannot control one area. Quite the opposite, they are gentle and non-territorial primates, which means that they do not stop other animals entering their living area. Some people think that gorillas are violent and territorial animals, but that is a myth.
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