Wondering how do gorillas sleep? Mountain gorilla sleep in new nests every day, for those wondering how do mountain gorillas sleep or whether do gorillas sleep in nests? The answer is YES!. Each day the gorillas build a new nest to sleep in. This is because the mountain gorillas are nomadic, moving around their home range constantly. At the end of the day, just before dusk, these great primates start constructing a nest where they will spend their night. Nests are carefully constructed using branches and leaves and are constructed by individuals. Nest building usually takes around 5 minutes. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees, tend to sleep in nests on the ground.

The troop will be in a different place each evening, and the gorillas will have to build new nests for the night. Mountain gorillas make their nests from materials such as grasses and bent branches which are readily available Gorillas like most of their primate colleagues, sleep in nests which they patch in the trees or on the ground in consideration of various variables like vegetation and the security conditions.

It should be noted that every evening, gorillas construct new nests – something that is evidenced on your gorilla trekking safari in Uganda and this cannot be avoided even if it is very close to the nest that slept in the previous night.

Do Infant/Young Gorillas Make Nests too, to Sleep in Daily?/ How do young Gorillas Sleep

Another thing to note is that, Infants or call them baby gorillas are the only ones exonerated from the task of making nests as they spend over nights with their mothers.
Gorillas enter into their nests at least one hour before the dark however on rare cases they also build nests for midday rests. Baby gorillas sleep with their mothers but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers.

The Process of Building a New Gorilla Nest Where Gorillas Sleep 

The process of building a gorilla nest is not an easy task. Building ground nests involves pulling bush branches and other plants into the center where they are layered and anchored to each other. The other plants are then bent in to create a nest rim. This is in contrast to tree nests which are built in branch forks and other related structures. What is mainly considered with tree nests is that the nest has to be designed to accommodate the gorilla weight that’s why it’s common for young gorillas and female gorillas to spend their overnights in trees because of their relative light weights compared to the heavier Silver back. These nest dynamics are always seen while carrying out gorilla trekking in Uganda in Bwindi and Mgahinga in Uganda or Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic. Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture, but as an important instance of tool use.The question of what gorillas eat is dependent on the nature of their habitat and the season of the year. Primarily, Mountain gorillas feed on parts of green plants unlike their counter parts the lowland gorillas which prefer a lot of fruit. It should be noted that during the dry season, there are few juicy fruits in presence which prompts the gorillas to consume a lot of seeds and tree barks – something always seen while on gorilla safaris in Uganda or in Rwanda. READ MORE

It has been noted that gorillas can acquire many human diseases and it is upon this background that those on gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda and Rwanda have to keep a minimum distance to reduce on this risk.

Mountain gorillas tend to inhabit the areas with wet and cold climate which in turn tend to cause respiratory tract diseases especially Pneumonia thus claiming some of the Mountain gorilla lives. READ MORE

Gorillas like most of their primate colleagues, sleep in nests which they patch in the trees or on the ground in consideration of various variables like vegetation and the security conditions. It should be noted that every evening, gorillas construct new nests – something that is evidenced on your gorilla trekking safari in Uganda and this cannot be avoided even if it is very close to the nest that slept in the previous night. Another thing to note is that, Infants or call them baby gorillas are the only ones exonerated from the task of making nests as they spend over nights with their mothers. READ MORE

Gorilla groups do not necessarily require distinct territories and neither do they defend such areas against conspecifics. Gorillas roam in what is called the home ranges whose size is dependent on the food availability.

The home ranges are always larger where the food sources are widely dispersed. In case of abundance of nutritious and high quality food plants, the distance in between the feeding sites reduces. However, the more members the gorilla family possesses, the further will it roam and the extensive is the home range which at times causes variation in gorilla trekking times among different gorilla groups. READ MORE

This is a question to contemplate deeply about especially when it relates to the critically endangered mountain gorillas which are mostly sought of on Uganda gorilla safaris. It should be noted that apart from humans, the gorillas do not certainly have enemies.
Among the animals that have been registered to have an influence on the life gorillas are Leopards. This predator has been recorded in Virunga Volcanoes to have an effect on the lives of gorillas. For example Walter Baumgärtel came across the remains of a range of gorillas that had lost their dear lives at the hands of dangerous leopards in the area. A similar case was recorded in Gabon where a leopard killed a sick young gorilla. READ MORE

Gorillas like other apes including humans find it hard to swim naturally which prompts them to desist from expanse water masses like Lakes and Rivers. It has been recorded however that both adult and young gorillas like to play around with water. While in quest of their food, gorillas tend to walk through swamps on their two legs keeping water levels up to their waists. READ MORE

Primarily, gorillas dwell on ground and can only spend 5 – 20% of their daytime in trees in contrast to their primate counterparts – Chimpanzees which spend 47 – 67% of their time in trees and Orangutans spending close to 100%. READ MORE

Gorillas are always active from 6am to 6pm. Gorillas tend to have daily routine and events seem too follow each other chronologically. Even on your gorilla safari in Uganda and Rwanda, you have a chance be part of this routine. Gorillas move out of their nests early in the morning to commence their foraging consuming as much vegetation as they can before resting in the late morning and midday. Gorillas forage again in the in the afternoon until they rest at night. Unless it is cold and overcast which prompts gorillas to stay longer in their nests, they tend to depart their nests at dawn 6am. READ MORE