Gorilla Safari Rwanda and Uganda, Watching Gorilla Trekking Tours
SOUTH- WESTERN UGANDA
Gorilla safaris in Uganda
The gorilla move on all fours with its knuckles on the ground, but its weight is supported by its feet. Strikingly human in appearance the hands are very broad and strong. The thumbs are smaller than the fingers, which helps the gorilla to group as it climbs trees or grabs foliage. The gorilla’s feet are characterized by the big toe. Unlike those of most apes, it is not widely separated from the other toes.
Gorillas mate year-round. The female produces one offspring about every fourth year. If her offspring gorilla dies in infancy, which happens 40-50 percent of the time, she will breed more frequently. A young gorilla remains with its parents three years after its birth.
Gorillas live in groups often to thirty females and their young, with one or more mature males, called silverbacks. Young adult males generally live alone, sometimes joining groups for short periods. Afterward, they resume their solitary existence. Occasionally they take females with them to mate and start their own groups.
SOCIAL HABITS
Each family group live within a fairly small area, However, groups that occupy the same area coexist peacefully. One way in which gorillas establish and reinforce bonds is by social grooming. One gorilla trekking will groom the other by combing through its fur with its fingers and teeth. In addition to the cleanliness it promotes, social grooming allows close contact and touch between the animals. A family group; the dominant male is known as a silverback because the hair on his back turns gray with age.
Each evening, gorilla safari build nests in trees in which to spend the night. Up to the age of three, the young share their mothers’ nest. However, the nest-building instinct is so strong that they experiment with making their own nest at an early age. Nest building is not a painstaking process. The gorilla simply pulls in any branches that it can reach and then squats on them to make a platform.
