The Silver Back Gorilla: Into the Realm of Powerful Gentle Giants

How strong and powerful is a silver back gorilla?

Silverback gorillas are powerful primates and being part of the ape family makes them natural power monsters.

Silverback gorillas have incredible strength that they are capable of lifting or throwing weights of up to 1,800 pounds. This makes it as strong as 13 humans beings combined.

Silverback gorillas also have massive hands and powerful legs. The bodies of silverback gorillas are very strong, and their jaws are so powerful with an incredible bite force, these gorillas have large-sharp canine teeth inside their mouth of about 2 inches.

In most cases, silverback gorillas only display their fangs to shake off threats, and they can also do real damage with their powerful bites.

Dominant silverback gorillas usually charge by beating their chests and making roaring sound to show off dominance and power and also to shake off potential threats.

What do Silverback Gorillas eat?

Being the largest species of the great ape’s family, Mountain gorillas can reach up to six feet tall and weigh over 400 pounds.

They achieve this incredible build from their vegetarian diet, feeding on roots, shoots, fruits, wild celery, tree barks among others.

Silverback gorillas can consume over 30 kilograms of food each day while the females consume up to 18 kilograms of vegetation and with their massive jaw muscles, they can chew tough vegetation.

Where to find silver back gorilla?

As their name, Mountain gorillas roam the steep mountain forests of two national parks across Uganda at heights ranging from 8,000 to 13,000 feet, this height is same in altitudes as that of a skydiver jumping out of a plane.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park stand as the ancient natural sanctuaries haboring these magnificent creatures, these two national parks habor over 600 gorilla individuals which is over half the population of gorillas in the whole world.

In East Africa, Mountain Gorillas are found in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park as well as in DRC in the Virunga National Park.

Best time to trek Silverback Gorillas

It is crucial to note that trekking silverback Gorillas in Uganda is open for all year long, however, there are peak seasons that are so favourable such as during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February when the trekking and hiking trails are less slippery compared to the rainy seasons during the months of March, April and May when the trekking and hiking trails are slippery and difficult to navigate.

Other Wildlife

Other Primates

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park also harbour other rare primates like the Chimpanzees, Black and white Colobus monkeys, rare L’Hoests’ monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and baboons among others.

Mammals

Mammal species that inhabit Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park include forest elephants, Bush Pigs, Giant Forest hogs, Black-fronted Duikers, Yellow-backed duikers, Clawless otters, Civets, and Side stripped jackals as well as bats and rodents.

Birds

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are home to numerous bird species including the African Green Broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Chapin’s Flycatcher and Shelley’s Crimson wing, the African Green Broadbill, Grauer’s Warbler and short-tailed warbler, the Fraser’s Eagle Owl, Western Bronzenaped Pigeon, White-bellied Robin-Chat among others.

There you have it; Silverback is a special name only given to a mature male mountain gorilla because of the grey patch of hair that develops on the male gorilla’s back due to age.

Book your safari to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park with Friendly Gorillas Safaris today and witness these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.