Do male gorillas help care for their young?Updated 6 months ago

Just like human dads, gorilla dads know how to have fun with their little ones!  They are incredibly patient, often acting as jungle gyms for infants who lay on and roll off their backs. Silverbacks (adult males) spend time caring for and socializing with older infant gorillas, even though they don’t know which baby is theirs. 

One famous example is the silverback Cantsbee, who was known to “babysit” five or six infants while their mothers were foraging. Research has also shown that blackback (immature) males who spend more time playing with infants and juveniles are more likely to sire offspring once they become silverbacks.