A case study of mother-son transfer in mountain gorillas

In mountain gorillas (Gorilla g. beringei), male immigration in bi-sexual units is rare. This paper presents the case of a nearly weaned male infant gorilla who followed his mother in her transfer. This case was recorded in the study population at the Kariske Research Center in 1988. The data come from observation in Group B (on 12 days just prior to the transfer and on 54 days after the transfer over a period of 6 months). The situation of the infant did match the conditions in which infanticide occurs in gorillas, but he was not killed, despite receiving male aggression and being wounded twice. In fact, both the mother and the infant received male aggression more frequently than the long term residents in the group. The aggression received by the mother decreased after she mated with the males and after she weaned the infant. The aggression received by the infant, however, did not decrease after his mother mated with the males, and increased in intensity. The infant reacted fearfully to male aggression, in marked contrast to his mother, who reacted either with indifference, or by simply avoiding the males. The aggression eventually stopped, and the infant became a blackback in Group B. Evolutionarily, the death of the infant would not have markedly accelerated the mother's return to estrus, but the death of the infant could still have benefitted the males, by decreasing the reproductive output of a competitor. Adult male gorillas are also presumably selected to resist male immigration. Proximately, the aggression directed towards the infant was not related to mating access to the mother. The sex of the infant may contribute to explain the post-transfer male aggression, but data on the integration of old female infants in a new group is needed to test whether the sex of the infant has an effect on their vulnerability to infanticide. Also, the intense fear displayed by the infant may have played a role in prompting male aggression.