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As male mountain gorillas mature, the fur on their back turns from black through gray to almost white - much the same way a man's hair turns gray but this does not affect the females. it is the origin of the name 'silverback' which signifies a mature mountain gorilla male. At around its onset, the gorilla will have acquired mating rights by wresting a family from an older silverback or bringing together several females and thus now heads a family with several females, some juveniles and some black-backs, quite like a human polygamous family, where he demands exclusive mating rights. He stays in charge until death or when older and weaker is deposed by younger fellows.
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