![]() Anyone who has gone gorilla trekking in Uganda will be aware of how small the remaining forest fragments are and that also the gorilla families are often found eating in farmers fields – for which the farmers are compensated in some of the national parks. Threats to the future of silverback gorillas and their families include becoming entangles in snares and traps set for other wildlife, habitat lost due to encroachment by farmers and transmission of diseases such as Ebola. Silverback Gorillas distribution and conservation statusĭespite recent success in increasing the number of Mountain Gorillas in the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda – the entire world population of wild mountain gorillas is located within these 3 countries – to an estimated population of 880, there are still many threats to their future and they are still regarded as critically endangered and included on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Considering their size they are remarkably delicate eaters, with a careful selection of a favourite plant and sometimes gentle washing in some nearby water to wash away the dirt. Gorillas are herbivores and their major food sources are shoots, roots, vines, leaves and fruits. It is the male silverback who decides the daily routine for the entire gorilla family when and where they are going to eat, rest and sleep. It is estimated that the male silverback is around 10 times stronger than an average human male, but really there is no scientific evidence to support these claims. ![]() When we have gone gorilla trekking in Uganda, we have generally observed very relaxed male gorillas with any tension related to the younger playful gorilla youngsters approaching too close to the human visitors. Despite their intimidating appearence, silverbacks rarely threaten humans unless they feel the gorilla family is under threat. Male silerback gorillas stand and impressive 2 metres (6 foot plus) high and can weigh as much as 180 kg (400 lbs). Without him, the gorilla family are at the mercy of rogue silverbacks who may kill the babies of the female gorillas as part of the process of establishing dominance and ensuring it is their genetics which passes on to the next generation. This is the kingdom of the Silverback Gorilla and it is here where he will stand or fall doing his duty to protect the gorilla family. Uganda wildlife is rich and varied but almost all visitors to this beautiful country choose to take a gorilla safari in the west of the country, which borders the Congo and Rwanda. We discuss the mechanisms through which males with more exaggerated traits could obtain a mating advantage, namely male-male fights or female mate choice.Silverback gorillas are a magnificent sight in the wild and for anyone who has been lucky enough to go gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda a chance to photograph the largest and strongest primate in the world is top of their wildlife travel bucketlist. Whereas morphological variables did not significantly affect the intensity of male-male encounters, the number of females attending male-male encounters strongly affected the number of agonistic displays by the two males. The number of females belonging to a mature male positively correlated with the male crest size, body length, and musculature. Behavioral data were also collected during 312 male-male encounters involving 67 mature males in order to estimate their level of aggressiveness. Body length, head-crest size, musculature development, and extent of the grey color on the back were assessed in 87 nonbreeding and breeding mature males. We developed photogrammetric methods for distance collection of morphological data from silverback males frequenting the Lokoué forest clearing in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo. Such traits are likely to have evolved by sexual selection, either because they confer advantages during male-male fights or because females prefer males with more dimorphic traits. Mature males are twice the size of females and have grey fur on their backs and a fibrous, adipose crest on their heads. The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is one of the most sexually dimorphic primate species.
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