Why Do Silverback Gorillas Fight? Silverback gorillas are adult male members of a gorilla group. They mature at the age of 14 years and develop a patch of silver hair on their backs.
Each silverback weighs about 430 pounds (195 kg) and stands about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. They are extremely strong and can lift over 1,763 pounds (800 kg) of dead weight.
Typically, a silverback is the head of a gorilla group or family.
A gorilla family consists of:
- A dominant silverback (the head)
- Blackbacks
- Adult females
- Juvenile females
- Babies
- Sometimes, other submissive silverbacks
Why Silverback Gorillas Fight
When there is more than one silverback in a group and no submission, conflicts can arise at any time.
This happens for the following reasons:
- Protecting the Family: A dominant silverback fights to protect its family from attacks by another silverback.
- Preventing Family Members from Leaving: If another silverback tries to break away from the main group with some family members, the dominant silverback will fight to bring them back.
- Mating Rights: Silverbacks fight if another silverback mates with the females in the group. Mating is a privilege of the dominant silverback, so he fights to protect his rights.
- Defending Against Predators: Silverbacks fight to protect the group from predators.
- Challenging Leadership: If another silverback challenges the dominant silverback to take over the group, the dominant silverback fights to defend his position as the leader.
- Leadership Gap: If the dominant silverback dies, other silverbacks fight to fill the leadership gap. The winner of the fight becomes the new leader because he shows strength and capability.
- Territorial Disputes: Two gorilla families cannot coexist in the same territory. Silverbacks fight to determine which group will leave the area.
Silverbacks fight for different reasons, all of which are reasonable as explained above.
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