Loss of habitat due to human encroachment.According to IUCN’s Red List, mountain gorillas are considered critically endangered because of the following causes:.During this time they forage, groom and play with members of the troop. To bond with his group, a silverback rests at midday and spends almost 13 hours sleeping. Most of the time conflicts are resolved through display and not actual fighting.They are typically quiet and shy unless an intruder confronts a silverback to take over the group.Where a mother dies or leaves the troop, the silverback looks after the young ones and allows them to sleep in his nest.They use a variety of vocalizations, gestures, facial expressions and body language to communicate with others. Like other great apes, silverbacks are intelligent primates.Unlike orangutans, silverbacks father the majority of the young in the troop.When males reach sexual maturity, they tend to leave the troop and travel alone until they can form their own troop to lead.Because of his size and strength, females choose to mate with him rather than other males in the group. In terms of mating, the silverback is the only male allowed to mate with all of the females in a troop.A troop may be composed of several younger males, adult and juvenile females and infants. Since they are nomadic, they build new nests each day.In order to scare away other animals, silverbacks stand erect on their hind legs, tear and throw plants, stomp their feet, strike the ground with their palms and drum their chests with their hands. Aside from protecting the troop, the alpha silverback decides where to travel, forage for food and sleep. An adult silverback serves as the alpha and leader of the group. They normally live in troops composed of 5 to 30 individuals. Despite their body strength, silverback gorillas are shy and gentle.Younger male mountain gorillas are called “blackbacks” because the silver saddle will only occur at the age of 12.In addition, they have relatively small ears for the size of their heads.Aside from their silverbacks, male mountain gorillas are distinguished by their pronounced bony crest on the top of their skulls, which gives their head a conical shape.In order to sustain their body, they eat up to 66 pounds of food per day. Since they are herbivores, silverbacks eat a variety of roots, fruit, herbs, bark, bamboo and sometimes insects.They can weigh up to 350 pounds with a stocky build, muscular arms and broad chest making them the largest among the primates. An average silverback height is up to 6 feet tall while female mountain gorillas average up to 5 feet tall.Adult male mountain gorillas are called silverbacks because of the silver saddle running across their back and hips.They wander in home ranges of 10 to 15 square miles.They inhabit the Albertine Rift cloud forest and the Virunga Volcanoes in Central Africa. With their thicker fur, they can live at high altitude and in colder climates.Despite their huge size, mountain gorillas can climb fruiting trees. They are terrestrial and quadrupedal primates, which means they spend more time on the ground than in trees and walk on four limbs. Like other great apes, they have longer arms than legs.
Compared to other species of gorilla, mountain gorillas have thicker and longer fur.Along with chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos, gorillas are considered one of the great apes. Mountain gorillas are one of the two subspecies of the Eastern gorilla found in the mountainous forest of East and Central Africa.Average Lifespan in the Wild: 40 to 50 years.Natural Habitat: Tropical rainforest of East and Central Africa.Scientific Name: Gorilla beringei beringei.Key Facts & Information Habitat and Anatomy
Silverback strength download#
See the fact file below for more information on the silverback gorilla or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Silverback Gorilla worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. The silverback is responsible for protecting and leading a troop of five to thirty mountain gorillas on where to migrate, forage for food and even rest.
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