Silverback Facts:

• An adult male gorillas becomes a “silverback” at about age 15 when he is full grown and the hair on his back turns silvery-gray. (Koko.org)
• Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback  - The leader organizes troop activities like eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group’s 0.75-to-16-square-mile (2-to-40-square-kilometer) home range.
• Those who challenge this alpha male are apt to be cowed by impressive shows of physical power. He may stand upright, throw things, make aggressive charges, and pound his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a frightening roar. 
• Despite these displays and the animals’ obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and nonaggressive unless they are disturbed. (NatGeo)

Move Over Monday: African Gorillas

What’s so funny?!

98.6% human, gorillas babies learn faster than their human counterparts in many respects: 

• Baby gorillas are out and about much earlier than human babies – they crawl at about two months while the latter only sit upright at around six months.
• Gorillas walk before they are nine months old, a feat only the quickest of human babies would master. 
• gorilla moms nurse their young – usually for much longer, about 2 ½ years.
• Once weaned, baby gorillas also leave their mother’s sleeping nest and build their own. If only human mothers were that lucky!

(EnvironmentalGraffiti)

Endangered Animals

Bull elephants will ram tusks in macho displays for female affections in local herds. 

See more from the endangered animal photo album here. 

The fennec fox is the smallest of all the world’s foxes, but its large ears, measuring 6 inches (15 centimeters), appear to be on loan from a bigger relative.

Fennec foxes dwell in the sandy Sahara and elsewhere in North Africa… Their distinctive, batlike ears radiate body heat and help keep the foxes cool. - NatGeo

Explore more African wildlife.