Female Gorillas, Roles, Names, Diet, Behaviours and more.
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Written by:
Brenda Bliss
- Published:
- Updated: July 4, 2025
Female Gorillas, Roles, Names, Diet, Behaviours and more.
You could spend hours watching a female gorilla and still leave with questions you can’t quite answer. They have this steady presence that feels both gentle and immovable. It’s easy to assume the silverback is always the one in charge and he is, in some ways. Over time, you start to notice how much the females set the tone of a group.
They care for infants, form quiet alliances, and decide when it’s time to move. It’s subtle. You almost don’t see it happening until you look back and realize who was guiding the rhythm all along.
Below, you’ll find more about what female gorillas are like their names and roles, how they raise their young, what they eat, and a few details you might find yourself remembering later, when you didn’t expect to.
Names and Social Roles
People often think of the group as being organized mainly around the silverback, and in a way, that’s true. He does protect everyone, leads them to feeding areas, and breaks up fights. But female gorillas hold their own influence.
A female born in the group is called a natal female, while one who joins from another group is sometimes called an immigrant female. Over time, females form bonds with each other and with the silverback, though each bond looks a little different.
Researchers often give them names so they can track life histories. Some names come from the region—names like Kurudi or Tuck, or from something about their personality. You might hear about a female known for being particularly calm around researchers or for being fiercely protective of her young.
It’s not always easy to tell which females are closest friends. You might see them grooming each other or sitting near each other when they rest. Then again, the next day, one might sit alone for hours. There’s a kind of quiet unpredictability to their social circles.
Diet: What Female Gorillas Eat
A female’s diet looks similar to that of other adults in her group, but when she’s nursing or pregnant, she tends to eat more to support the extra demands on her body.
Most of what she eats is plant material. You’ll see her pulling handfuls of leaves, stems, and shoots. Sometimes she sits for a while, sorting through her options as if deciding which piece looks most appealing.
Typical foods include:
- Young leaves and tender shoots
- Fruits when they’re in season
- Bark stripped from small trees
- Occasionally flowers
- A little soil or decaying wood, probably to supplement minerals
There’s something deliberate about how she eats. You’ll watch her break a stem in half, peel away the outer layer, and chew the softer inside. Sometimes she offers a small piece to an infant, though it’s not always clear whether the baby wants it or is only curious.
Female Gorilla Eating
How They Raise Their Young
One of the most striking things about female gorillas is how consistent and patient they are with their infants.
When a baby is born, it weighs around 4 pounds. The mother almost never puts it down for the first few months. It clings to her chest while she moves, sometimes adjusting its grip so it doesn’t slip. You might think it looks fragile, but in a way, it seems sturdier than you expect.
Around 3–4 months, the baby begins to climb onto her back. You’ll see them riding piggyback as she walks and feeds. Every so often, she reaches back to steady it, an almost absent-minded motion that looks like second nature.
Female gorillas usually have their first baby when they’re about 10 years old. In a lifetime, they might raise 4 or 5 infants, though not all survive. Infant mortality is still common. Even knowing that, it can feel surprising how calm a mother seems after losing a baby. She’ll sit alone for hours, the rest of the group giving her space. And after a while, she returns to the group’s daily routines, as if the loss is carried in a place you can’t see.
Older females often help watch over younger ones. Sometimes a juvenile will climb onto another female’s back. The silverback rarely interferes with this caretaking unless there’s a threat nearby.
Suggested Safari Itineraries
Behavior and Group Life
If you watch a group for a day, you’ll see female gorillas doing a lot more than caring for babies.
They:
- Forage methodically, moving in a loose pattern while keeping track of each other.
- Rest in small clusters, sometimes leaning against each other.
- Groom to remove dirt and strengthen social bonds.
- Vocalize in low rumbles or short grunts, communicating in ways researchers are still deciphering.
When there’s a dispute foe example in case of over food or space, females sometimes slap the ground or display briefly. It’s usually enough to make the point. They avoid conflict more often than they seek it.
At times, you’ll see a female sitting a little apart from the others, watching everything. It’s easy to imagine she’s thinking something important, though it might be simpler than that. Perhaps she’s only enjoying a quiet moment.
Where You Can See Them
Female mountain gorillas live across different regions in Africa.
If you hope to see them in the wild, these are some of the main places:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
- Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
- Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo
Visiting often involves trekking with guides. You walk through forest that feels almost primeval. The guides watch for signs—a bent stalk, fresh dung, a distant sound—and when you finally come across a group, there’s usually a moment when everyone goes silent.
I think that first sight stays with you. A female might look up, meet your gaze, and then look away, as if she’s already decided you’re harmless.
Female Gorilla with its young One
Best Time to Visit
There isn’t one perfect season. Each has its own qualities.
| Season | Months | What You Might Notice |
| Dry | June–September, December–February | Trails are clearer, less rain, more predictable conditions for trekking. |
| Wet | March–May, October–November | The forest looks greener, fewer tourists, but paths can be slippery. |
Some travelers prefer the dry months because the hikes feel easier. Others like the wet season for the sense of solitude. I’ve been during light rains, and it felt like the forest was holding its breath.
Suggested Safari Itineraries
A Few Small Impressions
It’s easy to focus on the silverbacks, but as time goes on, you start paying more attention to the females. You notice how they set the pace, how the young ones glance toward them before trying anything bold.
One afternoon, I watched a mother pick through a patch of leaves while her baby dozed against her hip. She looked very close to the people nearby, though every now and then she shifted her position to keep an eye on the rest of the group.
It’s in those smaller gestures that you see who really holds the group together.
Female gorilla fun Facts
- Female gorillas may weigh between 150 and 220 pounds, smaller than the males but still strong enough to break a branch thicker than your wrist.
- Unlike silverbacks, the female gorillas live around 35–40 years in the wild, sometimes longer in protected settings.
- A female often stays with the same silverback for many years, though she may transfer to another group if the male dies or if she chooses.
- Infant gorillas spend most of their first 6 months attached to their mother, day and night.
- Females groom each other more often than males do, probably to maintain alliances.
Tips for Seeing Female gorillas
- Wear neutral-colored clothing that blends into the forest.
- Carry water and a snack; treks can take hours.
- Speak softly when you’re near the gorillas. Even your normal voice can feel too loud in that quiet.
- If a female moves closer, stay still. She’s deciding whether you matter.
- Watch how the infants look to the mothers for reassurance. It shows you who they trust most.
A Last Reflection
Female gorillas aren’t always the ones in the photographs or on the magazine covers. But when you watch them, you start to realize they’re the steady center of everything.
The significance of the female gorillas is undeniable and you may see it in the way the group exhibit their pace, the way the infants settle against them without question.
If you stand there long enough, you might feel a strange sense of recognition. Maybe it’s the quiet authority. Or the patience. Or the sense that they’ve seen it all before and still know how to keep going.
Either way, you leave with a respect you probably didn’t expect when you started the hike. And that respect tends to linger.
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