REPRODUCTION OF MOUNTAIN GORILLAS

Mountain gorillas have a slow rate of reproduction. This slow reproduction rate makes this species even more threatened. Females reach sexual maturity at age 7 or 8, but don’t begin to breed immediately until they are 10 years or older. Generally, due to competition between males for access to females, few wild males breed before they reach 15 years old. Eight and a half months or nine months after mating a female produces a single young and in rare cases twins. Youngs are usually weaned by three years old, and females can give birth every four years.
Mothers share a very close bond and relationship with their infants for about 4 years, after which another sibling may be born. A mother gorilla will breast feed her baby for three and a half years and will have a maximum of six babies with spacing of four years. Upon reaching sexual maturity, between ages seven and ten, young gorillas strike out on their own, seeking new groups or mates.
Mountain gorilla females can begin motherhood around age 10. Mother gorillas initially hold newborns close to their chest, but the infant soon learns how to hold on for itself. It later learns how to ride on the mother’s back until it is old enough to travel on its own. Young gorillas are adventurous and climb a lot. A young gorilla remains with its mother until 5 years of age. Newborn gorillas are weak and tiny, weighing about 4 pounds. Their movements are as awkward like those of human infants.