Female silverback gorilla4/8/2023 "Given the high costs of transfer, a female finds herself in a dilemma when she is with an older male: does she stay, breed with him again and risk losing the infant if he dies, or does she leave and suffer the reproductive costs," says Manguette. These delays can be substantial: females that transferred four times during their life took approximately ten years longer to produce a surviving offspring compared to females that never transferred. Yet when females leave to join another male, they have longer intervals between births and hence fewer births over their lifetime. "If at that point a female has a suckling infant, the new silverback will most likely kill it to breed with the female right away and raise his own offspring." Female lowland gorillas can prevent this from happening by transferring to a new group right after her offspring stops suckling, leaving the infant behind with its father. Mountain gorillas are strong primates but they do not show much of their strength. Generally, western gorilla males tend to mate with every female in the group regardless of whether they are fertile or not. In all gorilla subspecies, the dominant silverback prefers mating with older experienced mothers. "When a silverback dies, all females leave to join a new male," says Manguette. Well, gorillas and silverbacks particularly are stronger than any human being. The attention given to a fertile/ovulating female by the silverback tends to arouse competition among females in the group. Manguette and her colleagues found that a high percentage of infants die if they are born when the male is old and has reached the end of his reproductive years. "We have observed females transferring to another group after every weaned offspring and therefore up to six times in their lives, while others have stayed and bred with the same male for 20 years." "Female gorillas seem to have different strategies when it comes to reproduction and transfer," says Marie Manguette, first author of the study. Females rely on this protection and never travel alone, however they may change groups multiple times during their lives. With his impressive body size, he protects his group against predators and other adult males. In western lowland gorillas, groups consist of several females and only one adult male, the silverback.
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