gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate).Reproductive output for females is about one surviving offspring every 8 years (survival implying reaching breeding age). Females are sexually mature by 10 years of age, but males are unlikely to start breeding before 15 years. Weaning often doesn't occur until three years of age, and juveniles may remain with mothers for years after that. The length of the estrous cycle of a female mountain gorilla is 28 days, and there is no visible external menstrual flow.Ī single, dependent young is born after a eight and a half month gestation period. A female is receptive only during estrus, and she will cease to ovulate for several years after giving birth. Mating behavior is initiated by the female, with a series of slow and hesitant approaches to the male. These animals don't mature sexually until well into their teens. Males that have a harems of 3 to 4 females increase their reproductive output by fathering 10 to 20 offspring over 50 years. Reproductive rates are slow and a female may leave only 2 to 6 offspring over a 40 year life-span. ![]() Mountain gorillas are polygynous the dominant male in each group has exclusive access to all the females in the group. Mountain gorillas differ from other gorillas in having longer hair, larger jaws and teeth, smaller nose, and shorter arms. Males also have apocrine glands in their armpits that emit a strong odor when the animal is under stress. Mature males develop a large patch of silver or grey hair on their backs, giving them the name silverbacks. Mountain gorilla coats are silky and long, ranging in color from blue-black to brownish-grey. They have robust bodies, long muscular arms, short legs, massive heads, and males have large, sharp canine teeth. They are highly sexually dimorphic, with females weighing 70 to 114 kg and males averaging 160 kg. ![]() Gorillas are the largest primate, with average lengths of 150 cm for females and 185 cm for males. Occasionally they go into the afro-alpine meadows (4,000 m) where temperatures are subfreezing at night and there is little suitable food to forage on. Mountain gorillas inhabit the montane cloud forest of the Virunga range. Mountain, or eastern gorillas, Gorilla beringei, are found in the Virunga volcanoes that separate the Democratic Republic of Congo from Rwanda and Uganda.
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