Gorilla Power: How Strong Are Gorillas?

Gorillas are the world’s largest living primate species with a maximum of 860 pounds! You can learn more about the world’s largest gorilla here. These are certainly very large creatures, but does their strength match their size? At first glance, a gorilla’s muscular build would indicate that they are very strong, but how strong? This article examines how gorillas maintain their incredible size and strength and asks the question: How strong are gorillas?

How a Gorilla’s Body Contributes to Their Strength

Much of a gorilla’s strength can be attributed to its large body size. Wild male gorillas weigh on average between 300 and 500 pounds and females between 150 and 250 pounds. The large size difference between males and females is an example of sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism is a natural phenomenon in which males and females of the same species have very different characteristics, such as size or color. This is very common in the animal kingdom and especially in primates.

of the great apes, orangutans and gorillas are the largest and are both exceptionally strong. However, these two monkeys move very differently, which has had a significant impact on their body structures over the course of evolution. Because orangutans move by hanging from branches and swinging, known as brachiation, they have developed specialized shoulder joints and a unique muscle distribution. Gorillas have adaptations for quadrupedal locomotion, which walks on four limbs. As a result, gorillas have joints capable of stable movement on land, and very muscular hind legs for weight bearing and propulsion. Both orangutans and gorillas in these examples show how every day functionality affects body structure over time. The way gorillas walk has therefore greatly influenced their musculature.

What do gorillas eat to get so strong?

Gorillas have to eat a lot of meat to feed such size and strength, right? Surprisingly, gorillas are primarily herbivores. There is some variation in diet between the different gorilla subspecies, but their diet usually includes foliage, fruit, and other plant matter. The leaves and fronds that gorillas rely on are low in nutrients, so they need to eat a large volume to meet their needs. oriental and western lowland gorillas eat every now and then ants and termites.

Most weight ever lifted by a gorilla

So, how strong are gorillas? According to the Guinness World Records, the highest weight a gorilla has ever weighed is 1800 pounds! Some hypotheses have suggested that gorillas can lift up to 10 times their body weight. To put that in perspective, the average American man can lift 0.87 times his body weight.

What are some other strong animals?

Many other animals are exceptionally strong for their size. the leaf cutter antcan carry loads up to 50 times its body weight, for example! These ants use their power to cut off leaves which they return to their colonies. Oxen have historically been very important to the agricultural industry as they individually have a pulling capacity of 1,680 pounds. elephants are the strongest of all in the animal kingdom and can lift up to 19,800 pounds!

How are the gorillas today?

All subspecies of gorillas are in great danger today. mountain gorillas are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. Western and Eastern Lowland Gorillas, and Cross River Gorillas are categorized as critically endangered. “Critically Endangered” is the most serious status before extinction in the wild and total extinction. The western gorilla is more populated than the eastern gorillahowever, the number of individuals in the wild is very low.

Gorillas face the great threat of poaching: they are deliberately hunted and killed or killed unintentionally by traps set for other animals. Habitat destruction, disease and war also severely impact gorilla populations. In times of civil unrest, refugees have turned to bushmeat for livelihood and gorillas, as well as other monkeys, have suffered the consequences. Because gorillas are so closely related to humans, they can suffer from various human-borne diseases. In 2004, Ebola devastated gorillas in Republic of the Congo effectively eliminating the population there. Recent estimates suggest that as many as 5,000 gorillas have died from Ebola.

There are several conservation efforts that have had many positive effects. There used to be less than 880 mountain gorillas alive, but in 2018 they were reclassified from critically endangered until threatened while their population grew to over 1,000 individuals. Breeding programs in several zoos attempt to repopulate both species directly. There are also organizations and laws to protect gorillas. The Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) aims to conserve all non-human great apes, including gorillas. The Gorilla Agreement is also legisla
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on specifically aimed at gorilla conservation.