From mating period, female gorillas take 8 and half month (gestation period) to give birth. The gestation period is somehow near to that of human being which is 9 month.
Female Gorilla have huge bellies (stomachs) so, it’s hard to tell whether it is pregnant or not. However, some females have swollen knuckles temporarily during pregnancy. In other words, Gorillas have large round stomachs which make pregnancy detection more difficult with females.
Gorillas mostly give birth at night and baby gorillas are born throughout the year.
Female Gorillas mostly give birth every four years.
Female Gorillas mostly give birth to single infant and twins are rarely born.
There is a 40% mortality rate for newborns which means that an adult female usually only has one surviving offspring produced every six to eight years. Therefore many females will only have two to six offspring in a lifetime.
Newborns offspring usually weigh about 2 kg (4.5 lb) with pale grey-pink skin that is sparsely covered with hair.
Young Gorillas are capable of climbing to their mother’s when moving from one place to another.
Baby Gorillas have very powerful grip from both their hands and feet to help them climb. Mothers initially assist the infants with holding on to their fronts.
Gorillas of the same age play together. They wrestle, tumble, climb trees, and even form a chain and walk in synchronization through the forest.
Baby Gorillas are always under constant contact with their mothers for the first six months and nurse for about 2.5 to 3 years and the bond between mother and their offspring is very strong.
The dominant silver back and other elder Gorillas in the group are always patient and gentle with the young Gorillas.
In comparison, baby Gorillas grow and develop much quicker than human babies- this is evidenced by the fact that they start playing, smiling, and bouncing at 8 weeks.
At about 9 weeks they begin crawling. Exploration of their environment and object manipulation begins around 3 months of age. They are able to stand at 20 weeks and at 34 weeks they are usually walking and traveling short distances from their mothers. Around 6 to 7 months of age, the infants are able to climb on their mothers’ backs and ride.
Baby gorillas begin eating some vegetation at around two and a half months and make it the majority of their diet by six to seven months. Male and female gorillas look very similar during their juvenile (3-6) and adolescent (6-8) years.