![]() Their weight doubles between the ages of twelve and eighteen. They only finish maturing, however, by the time they are about eighteen. Males become sexually mature relatively young. After that they must abide by all the rules and the hierarchy in the group. The white tuft means something like: “I’m young so I can still do whatever I please.” The white tuft disappears when gorillas reach puberty, by age five or six. This tuft is a clear signal to the other members of the group to treat the young gorilla kindly. During the first years of their life, you can recognise gorilla young by the tuft of white hair on their buttocks. Young gorillas suckle milk from their mother for four or five years. Mothers initially carry their infants on their belly and later on their back or on an arm or leg. Gorilla babies hold on tightly to their mother’s fur using their hands and feet. The newly born infant is very small and only weighs two kilos. The new mother then rests for a few hours and goes out with the group again the very next day. They have their first baby when they are about ten. This sound is amplified by the hollow space in its chest and can be heard as far as two kilometres away! By the way, gorillas beat their chests for other reasons too, for example when they want to play, challenge each other or boast.įemale gorillas become fertile when they are about eight years old. He then runs towards the other animal, tearing up bushes and trees on the way to demonstrate his strength and then does a drum roll by beating his chest with his flat hands. Which he might do to intimidate another silverback. It’s especially impressive to see a silverback beating his chest. ![]() But sometimes he hits a female to correct her. If the females are at odds with each other, he usually lets them sort it out themselves. Sometimes the silverback must act, though. All he has to do to control the group is adopt a certain posture, or look directly at another individual. Often the silverback doesn’t even need this type of communication. They do this, for example, when they lose sight of each other, or feel threatened or get into an argument. But gorillas are also capable of screaming and roaring loudly. They often produce a soft, humming sound which tells other individuals that they are contented. When gorillas are upset or threatened, they show it by coughing.Gorillas are very quiet and friendly animals.At the Zoo they play with special gorilla-proof toys. Young gorillas are very playful and love to tickle and chase each other. ![]() Listen closely and you'll hear them grumble, giggle, grunt, and cough. These include younger, non-dominant males, who may eventually move off and live alone. Just like us, gorillas make many sounds to communicate with each other. Western Lowland Gorillas are usually led by one dominant silverback male, though in large groups there can be more silverbacks. Zoos Victoria’s recycling campaign, They’re Calling on You, supports the Gorilla Doctors in conserving Africa’s primates. Werribee Open Range Zoo provides people with a rare opportunity to learn more about the plight of wild gorillas, including the catastrophic impact of coltan mining (a mineral used to make mobile phones). ![]() Werribee Open Range Zoo is an important regional male holding facility, and Motaba has fathered five young as part of an international breeding program. ![]() The Zoo is home to a group of three bachelors: silverback Motaba, and his two sons Yakini (the older bossy one) and Ganyeka (the cheeky one). ![]()
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