Gorilla Mating Rituals; Courtship, Reproduction & more

Gorilla mating rituals; When the female wants a mate, she will display various behaviors with intentions of signaling the male often the silverback that she needs to be mounted. Some of these behaviors include tight marking the male, eye contacts, a bit of touching, soft grunts, among others which entice the male into the act.

The females take the persuasion to greater heights by presenting themselves to the preferred male, most especially the silverback in a receptive posture which includes standing on all their fours with their behind part facing the male.

If the male is not too busy or if he is as well interested or finally enticed, he will briefly mount her for a couple of minutes like 2 to 3 minutes and then they will separate.

Let’s first give you a brief understanding of this great ape, the gorilla, before we return to today’s topic.

Gorillas are known to be the largest of the great apes on the globe inhabiting the tropical dense rain forests of east and central Africa.

They are divided into two main gorilla species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla. Each of these is further divided into two subspecies to get four subspecies with the eastern gorilla including eastern lowland gorillas and the famous mountain gorillas and the western gorilla comprising of western lowland gorillas and cross-river gorillas.

Surprisingly, despite of their large robust bodies, gorillas are generally herbivores feeding mainly on leaves and stems. The gorilla diet also includes fruits, flowers, tree bucks, insects, seeds, and shoots.

Gorillas are social animals living in social complex families called troops of up to about 30 individuals who are led by a dominant male called a silverback gorilla who is responsible for ensuring the well-being of all the individual members in his group. Gorillas are generally peaceful primates and are seen spending much of their foraging, grooming, and resting.

The common gorillas known that have been extensively researched are the mountain gorillas inhabiting the dense forests of central Africa specifically the Virunga mountain ranges which span three countries that’s Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo, and also found in the Bwindi impenetrable national park found in the southwestern regions of Uganda.

Generally, these gentle primates are endangered due to habitat loss, human encroachments, poaching for pet trade and bush meat, and diseases like Ebola and respiratory infections.

Gorilla Mating and Reproduction

Generally, female gorillas reach sex maturity at around 7 to 8 years of age but start mating at around 10 to 12 years of age. males reach sex maturity a bit later than females at around 11 to 13 years of age and get exclusive mating rights when they get a silverback at about 15 years of age and extra exclusive rights when they become dominant silverbacks, leading a particular troop.

When female gorillas reach sex maturity, they often leave their families to join other groups to avoid inbreeding. In the gorilla group, the dominant male, the leader called the silverback has exclusive mating rights and is observed mating with multiple females within his group.

Gorilla Mating Rituals

Gorillas are polygamous primates with one male, specifically the dominant silverbacks mating with several females within their troops. Gorilla mating occurs throughout the year majorly depending on the female’s initiation when fertile and ready to mate.

Unlike humans who mate in a face-to-face position and try out all other sex positions according to their preferences, the common gorilla mating position is the quadrupedal mating position also called the rear entry position which is also a common sex position among other wildlife species. Face-to-face mate positions are very rare among them.

In the quadrupedal mating position, the female gorilla is always on all her four limbs and the male will mount her, resting his front limbs or her back or sides for stability, and briefly mate her.

During the mating process, female gorillas are heard producing different vocalizations. They softly moan and grunt as a way of expressing their satisfaction and encouraging the male to proceed with the act.

Males as well produce sounds which are generally calm compared to the vocalizations they use in the wild while interacting or displaying dominance.

At this point, you might be wondering if gorillas enjoy mating. While it’s challenging to determine if they experience it in the same way humans do, what we do know is that gorillas primarily mate for reproductive purposes. Their desire is driven largely by biological factors.

What happens after a successful Gorilla mating?

After a successful gorilla mating, the female will get pregnant and give birth after about 8.5 months of being pregnant. She usually gives birth to one infant as twins are very rare just like humans.

During pregnancy, as the pregnancy is progressing, the female gorillas are observed to have energy reductions in their daily activity levels. She will forage less, rest more, feed more on leaves than stems, and consume many fruits if available, among others as she prepares her body for birth.

When she is a few days closer to the birth, she chooses a safe area where she builds a comfortable nest from leaves, tree branches, and other surrounding vegetation. She adds on it on a daily basis until she ensures that it’s ready to safely hold her and the newborn.

During the pregnancy, the silverback plays a crucial role in ensuring her safety, protecting her from harm as she’s now too weak to fight against dangerous predators of the wild like lions and leopards.

Other group members, the fellow females, also show her much love and care. They increase their social bonding through interactions and grooming to reduce stress caused by the challenges that come with being pregnant.

Gorillas often give birth at night. Unlike humans, the mother takes an active role in helping out herself to have the baby delivered just like other animals in the wild.

During that night, other members of the group are always on the watch to ensure her safety as predators might attack her during the process.

Despite their big robust size, they give birth to relatively smaller infants and newborns tend to weigh about 1.8 to 2.3 kilograms (4 to 5 pounds).

After a successful birth, she immediately starts taking care of her newborn. she’s observed cleaning it and holding it close to her body for warmth. Within a few days, she back to her daily activities though very much attentive to her baby’s needs hence she has t balance her foraging, socializing, and caring for her baby.

The infants majorly depend on their mothers for protection and nourishment for the first few years of their lives. Females gorillas reproduce again after a period of about 4 to 6 years which is relatively longer compared to other primates but it is due to the long periods of their infant dependency on them.