Updated
Mountain gorilla infants are born after a pregnancy of about eight and a half months, weighing around 2 kg, and depend completely on their mothers. They ride on the mother’s chest at first, then on her back, nurse for around three years and start building their own nests at about three. Females usually give birth only every four years or so, which is one reason gorilla numbers grow slowly.
The first year
Newborns cling to their mother’s chest fur and are carried constantly. From around three to four months they begin to ride on her back, and they take their first wobbly steps away from her at about the same age. Young infants have a small white tuft on the rump that fades as they grow. Other group members, especially young females, show great interest in infants, but mothers keep them close at first.
Years two to five
By their second year, infants eat more plants and play more with other youngsters, wrestling, climbing and chest-beating. They still nurse and sleep in their mother’s nest until about three or four, when they begin to build their own. Weaning often coincides with the mother’s next pregnancy. Infant deaths happen through disease, accidents and, when a new silverback takes over, sometimes infanticide.
Seeing infants on a trek
Families with young infants are a highlight of any trek, but rules about distance matter even more around them. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. See our guides to Bwindi’s gorilla families, the 7-metre rule, photographing infants and gorilla family life.
Frequently asked questions
About 2 kg.
Around three years.
Usually about once every four years.
At around three to four years old.
