Silverback Gorilla Trekking – All You Need to Know About Silverback Gorillas

Mature male mountain gorillas are called silverbacks due to the grey patch of hair that grows on their backs. They grow the silver saddle of hair on their backs at a mature age. Below 12 years, they are considered black backs! Silverback gorillas are dominant leaders in the gorilla families. Mountain gorillas live in families ranging from 5-35 gorillas and the silverbacks are in charge of making decisions, protect other family members and direct other members to places where they will feed in the course of the day.

At 11 years, mature male gorillas can leave a family to start his life and can be joined by other females and males. The young gorillas can stay with their mothers for about 4 years and silverbacks can take care of the orphaned and weaning gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are muscular and have broad chests with unique nose print that differentiates them from each other. Silverback mountain gorillas are 6 feet tall and females are 5 feet. Silverbacks weigh up to 350 pounds twice the weight of an adult man.
Silverback gorillas have a set of about 13 ribs which is approximately 26 ribs. One rib is heavier than that of humans and when they fight, they can kill young adult males as a way to avoid future threats/challenges.

Gorillas beat their chests or cream as a way to communicate with other members, especially when they are threatened or intruders come to their families. Silverbacks are in charge safety of other family members and in case of any threat, they defend them even if it means to die.
Silverback mountain gorilla can consume up to 30kgs of food and females consume about 18kgs. They depend on vegetation, leaves, bamboo shoots, roots and at times insects among other things.
The lifespan of gorillas ranges from 40 to 50 years and they thrive only in the natural gorilla habitat. Females can breed at 10 years or even earlier and silverbacks are responsible for mating. It is during this period that most females leave their original group and males leave at 11 years.

Where to trek silverback mountain gorillas

Silverback mountain gorillas can best trek while you are on a gorilla trekking safari in Uganda, Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In Uganda, Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park in the southwest are the best options available for you to catch a glimpse at massive silverback mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. To trek gorillas in Uganda, you need $600 to help you obtain a gorilla trekking permit. In Rwanda, gorilla treks are only conducted in Volcanoes National Park-northwestern side of the country. Gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda cost $1500 per person while in DR Congo, you can pay a visit to Virunga National Park and permits cost $450 per person or Kahuzi Biega National Park for eastern lowland gorilla trekking.