Adult Male Mountain Gorilla - About Silverbacks

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Silverback gorilla | Adult Male Mountain Gorillas

The term “silverback” is used to refer to adult male mountain Gorillas. This is because upon reaching maturity, the hair on the backs of the Male Mountain Gorillas begins to grayish or silver-colored. Its quite easy to recognize the silverback gorillas during your Gorilla trek in Uganda, Rwanda or Congo because of their unique color and large size. The strongest and most dominant silverback gorilla usually takes on the role of leading its gorilla group/ family. It’s therefore common for you to see the young silverbacks fighting with the leader of the group as they attempt to take over the leadership of their family, this is one of the interesting things you can witness during your gorilla trekking tour.

Why does a silverback charge?

Usually the dormant silverback gorillas charge, thumping their chests and making roaring sound. This may be a form of playing, an attempt to intimidate, or just to alert the group that there is something unusual or simply the beginning of an interaction. When the silverback gorillas do this, the adult females, juveniles and babies who are close by huddle together with their bellies to the ground and their feet and hands folded under their bodies. This is done to show their submission to the silverback.

How big is a silverback gorilla? – Weight of a silverback gorilla

The silverback gorillas usually weigh between 135 to 195 Kilograms, (300 to 430 Pounds) and stand between 1.5 to 1.8 meters in height (4 feet 11 in to 5 feet 11) with an arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 meters.

How strong is a silverback gorilla compared to a human or adult man?

An average silverback gorilla is at least seven to 18 times stronger than an adult male. Therefore an adult male cannot wrestle and win a wild silverback gorilla, which instinctively learns to fight other silverbacks in the battle for dominance.

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