Parenting:
Mountain Gorillas are born small covered with black hair and usually weigh about 2.3 kilograms. They develop as twice as human babies with the mature female mother also under going a gestation period of 9 months.

Gorillas have a slow rate of reproduction. Females give birth for the first time at about age 10 and will have more offspring every three or four years. A male begins to breed between 12 and 15 years, when he is in charge of his own group. Able to conceive for only about three days each month, the female produces a single young.

Newborn gorillas are weak and tiny, weighing in at about 4 pounds. Their movements are as awkward as those of human infants, but their development is roughly twice as fast. At 3 or 4 months, the gorilla infant can sit upright and can stand with support soon after. It suckles regularly for about a year and is gradually weaned at about 31/2 years, when it becomes more independent.

Gorilla Safaris

Gorilla Information

Mountain Gorilla Safaris Africa, Gorilla gorilla beringei
Physical Characteristics and Habitat
Gorillas in Uganda Bwindi, Behaviour and diet of these Apes
About Gorillas and Parenting