Have you been wondering where and how mountain gorillas sleep? The closest relatives to human beings behave and carry out their roles as real human beings inclusive of where they sleep which amuses travelers during their encounters with gorillas in their accommodations. Mountain gorillas share 98% of human genes living in families, each family is headed by the dominant silver back who acts like a dad protecting, defending and planning for the entire family concerning where to sleep and when.

The silver backs are assisted by the females who take care of the young ones the way human mothers do in a family.  Mountain gorillas are found in the virunga conservation area that stretches across the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the democratic republic of Congo. They are surviving in only four national parks of Bwindi impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla national park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the virunga national park in the democratic republic of Congo.

In the life of gorillas, it is a must that each gorilla family has to shift every day from one place to another for food and rest. Mountain gorillas put up nests which are built on the ground or in trees in consideration of the variables like security and vegetation and they build nests every evening regardless of whether the previous nest is very close. Every gorilla in the family has to build its own nest and it is only infants that are spared from putting up their nests as they sleep with their mothers. Gorillas settle in their nests approximately half an hour prior to the dark and it on rare occasions that gorillas build nets for midday rest. The gorilla nests are built in trees or on the ground and they resemble those of the chimpanzees, their close relatives.

The whole mountain gorilla family spends 30% of the total day feeding on fruits, leaves and branches, while 30% is spent travelling to the new destinations where they feed and sleep that very day. They feed early in the morning and in the afternoon go back to their nest for a rest before they go back to feed in the evening. Mountain gorillas are in their nests as early as 7:00 pm and they do not feed at night.

The tree nests are constructed in forks of branches and other related materials in such a way that they can carry the weight of the mountain gorillas, the females and the young ones have the advantage to sleep in trees nests due their light weight as compared to the very heavy silverbacks. In addition, female mountain gorillas the silver backs sleep in ground nests down the tree nests up so as to defend the females and the young ones in the tree nests up in the trees.

The ground nests are built by pulling bush branches along with other plants into the middle followed by layering them and anchoring them to one another while other plants are also bent to create a nest rim. These ground and tree nests can be seen during gorilla trekking and mountain gorillas enter their nests approximately 1 hour to the dark and at times construct nests for midday rest before they go or feeding in the early evening and then rush for an overnight in anew constructed nest.

Before the sunset, gorillas start constructing their nest where they sleep during the night. Every adult gorilla has their own nests which are constructed using branches of plants and they are built on the trees or the grounds in the forests. This is so unique on the eyes of the tourists on their gorilla safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and the democratic republic of Congo. The infant gorillas stay with their mothers next to them.

Conclusively, encountering the mountain gorillas in their accommodation nests, observing how gorilla’s carryout different roles with silver back defending and leading the family where as the females taking care of the young ones. This is really a unique experience that tourists must see on their gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo for the greater and memorable experiences.