Mountain Gorilla Behaviour: Gorillas are the most powerful of the apes. The adult males reach up to the height of 1,7m which is 6ft and weigh up to 140 to 275kg and the females 40-50% smaller compared to the males. The males are tremendously powerful and pose the ability to tear a branch from a tree and uprooting small trees.
Location of mountain gorillas in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas only live in the forested mountainous regions of Uganda – in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla National park. The only way to find them is by trekking to their home to meet them one on one in their natural habitat. These national parks are located in the south western part of Uganda and mainly characterized by very cold conditions, due to their location within thick vegetation cover.
Bwindi national park has four regions in which gorilla families have been habituated and can be found for trekking tours. These include Ruhija, Buhoma, Nkuringo and Rushaga gorilla sectors.
Social structure of gorillas.
Mount gorillas are non-territorial type of animals that live in groups known as troops or families. Each group has one or more adult male known as silverbacks and these can be 1-4 in number. In a troop there exists juvenile males also known as black backs plus a number of adult females as well as baby gorillas. The oldest and strongest silverback is dominant in the family and so it assumes a right to breed with any adult female.
At around the age of 8, adolescent female moves or transfers to another gorilla family before it reproduces. When it joins a new troop and reproduces, then that family becomes its permanent residence. The female rank within a family is always determined by the order to which it was recruited. Since “fast come first serve” is a rule in every family, so once it arrives late and it gives birth, its offsprings will not be considered and this is done in such a way that the offspring of the late comer never gets chance to remain close to the silverback for protection. For this reason the adolescent females prefer to join alone silverback or a newly formed family rather than a long established one.
An adolescent male moves away from its family due to lack of breeding and leadership opportunities. And so it will remain single or alone until it is joined by other females to form its own independent gorilla family. This period takes several years, beginning with the juvenile male separating slowly from its parental troop and the separation distance goes on increasing.
The population of a gorilla family is usually from 2-12 individuals. The largest troop ever identified had 4 silverbacks, 5 black backs, 12 adults and 16 young ones. The average number of individuals in a troop is normally 9. In most cases a troop with more than one silverback means that the other silverbacks are sons of the dominant silverback. The distance of their homes is between 4km² to 25km².
Social behaviors of Mountain gorillas.
Dominant silverback makes all the decisions with in the family and also deals with defending the family from any kind of danger or rivals, mainly those silverbacks that want to establish their own troops or to add on their troops. It eats the biggest portion of food, even in times of scarcity.
The adult females struggle to stay close to the dominant silverback, to the extent that they can fight each other so as to keep close to the dominant silverback. Adult female gorillas are closely bound to their off springs for the first three years of the offspring’s life. Gorillas greet each other by nose to nose.
Daily activities of mountain gorillas.
Gorillas divide their 24 hours in such a way that, they spend 24 hours feeding and 10 hours resting on a daily basis. They move distances of between 400-1000 meters daily which is about 88-219 miles per year.
They construct their nests on ground to sleep every end of the day, because they move daily in search of food and provisions and change their location.
Individual behaviors.
Mountain gorillas walk four footed with limited movements. Gorillas and chimpanzees have distinct walking styles known as knuckle walking. Because of their weight they are unable to walk long distances in such for food, from 0.5km to 1km when there is ample food. Gorillas don’t share or compete for food and it’s on rare occasions when they do. Female gorillas have a gestation period of 257 days which is 8.5 months. It’s always difficult to tell a pregnant gorilla since her stomach is always large even when she is not pregnant.
Where to stay when you visit Mountain gorillas in Uganda?
There are different accommodation places such as hotels ranging from luxury, mid-range to budget hotels and these may include Clouds mountain gorilla lodge, Four Gorillas lodge and Buhoma Lodge for luxury, Ichumbi gorilla lodge, Agandi eco lodge and Haven lodge Buhoma for mid-range while Buhoma Guesthouse, Broadbill forest camp and Rushaga Gorilla Havens lodge offer budget services.
How to get to Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National parks?
From Entebbe airport, by road it’s an 8 hours’ drive to Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks. While by air, one can fly from Entebbe airstrip to Kisoro or Kihiihi airstrips near Mgahinga Gorilla National park and Bwindi impenetrable national park respectively.
When is the best time to visit mountain gorillas?
Trekking gorillas in their natural home is all throughout the year but the best time to visit is during the dry season which is between January-February and June-September, in order to carry out a gorilla trekking tour easily without difficulties and to also clearly see the gorillas.
