![male silverback gorilla male silverback gorilla](https://www.westsideseattle.com/sites/default/files/images/[domain-url]/[node-yyyy]/[node-mm]/5675f1b7-d0ef-4678-b629-8781e68f04ef.jpg)
The lush Virunga ranges are home to over 1000 mountain gorillas the only place with these endangered primates. It is very big and weighs a lot of pounds with a grey hair on its back. The Silverback Gorilla is the most endangered species of Gorilla. A silverback gorilla is an alpha male gorilla that leads a gorilla family. Gorillas are also killed by poachers and sometimes get caught in poacher’s snares meant for other animals. Silverback gorillas were not even known to exist until 1902.Today, their habitat is being destroyed when people use the land for farming and the trees for fuel. They spend most of their day foraging for food and eating bamboo and leafy plants Gorillas are herbivores, and eat only plants. Silverback gorillas weigh approximately 350 pounds- about twice the weight of normal adult man. Silverback Gorillas are around six feet tall – about the height of an adult male – while females are around five feet tall. Each gorilla family has a silverback as leader who scares away other animals by standing erect on its hind legs, tearing up and throwing plants, drumming on the chest with its hands or fists, stamping its feet, striking the ground with its palms and galloping in a mock attack on all fours! Mountain gorillas have a stocky build, with a broad chest, long, muscular arms and wide feet and hands. To determine who fathers the offspring in wild mountain gorilla groups containing more than one adult male silverback, we genotyped nearly one-four. Adult male mountain gorillas are called Silverbacks because of the silver saddle of hair on their backs.
![male silverback gorilla male silverback gorilla](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3346/3545095085_a37d2fc586_b.jpg)
Silverback gorillas have long black hair and their thick, shaggy coats help to keep them warm in cold climates. Because gorillas are nomadic, they build new nests each day at dusk, constructing them out of bent branches in a tree or of grasses on the ground.
![male silverback gorilla male silverback gorilla](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/close-up-western-lowland-adult-male-silverback-gorilla-photographed-port-lympne-safari-park-near-ashford-kent-uk-133290834.jpg)
Silverback gorillas continually wander through their home ranges of 10 to 15 square miles, feeding and resting throughout the day. They are also referred to as mountain gorillas. Silverback gorillas live high in the mountains in two protected parks in Africa.