How strong is a silverbach gorrila compared to a strong adult male human

A

Alan McDougall

Alan McDougall
Registered Senior Member
How Strong Are Gorillas?

To date, no research has been conducted into how strong gorillas are compared to humans. Comparisons cannot be made very easily. Some people say that a silverback male is ten times stronger than a man while others claim a silverback is 27 times stronger. However, neither argument has been proved. A gorilla male probably looks much stronger than he actually is, as he doesn't have that much more muscle tissue than humans.

Or what do the experts think?

And how about the other great apes

Regards

Alan
 
Alan McDougall said:
How Strong Are Gorillas?

To date, no research has been conducted into how strong gorillas are compared to humans. Comparisons cannot be made very easily. Some people say that a silverback male is ten times stronger than a man while others claim a silverback is 27 times stronger. However, neither argument has been proved. A gorilla male probably looks much stronger than he actually is, as he doesn't have that much more muscle tissue than humans.

Or what do the experts think?

And how about the other great apes

Regards

Alan
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I don't know if they've ever tested this with a gorilla? I know they have with chimps.
I dug this snippet out of an old Guinness Book of records I remembered seeing it in.

From the Guinness book of records 1975

"In 1924 "Boma" a 165Lbs male chimp at the Bronx zoo, New York, recorded a right handed pull (feet braced) of 847 Lbs on a dynamometer.(the comparison given is 210Lbs for a man of the same weight). On another occasion, "Suzette" registered a pull of 1260 Lbs while in a rage (same zoo)."

A record from the USA of a 100Lbs chimp achieving a dead lift of 600 Lbs with ease sugests that, with training, a Male gorilla could raise 1800 Lbs
 
Mr MacGillivray said:
Humans are stronger because they use machines.
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Maybe, but what if we mounted frickin Lasers on the heads of Gorillas?

Is animal augmentation ethical?

mechakong-in-king-kong-escapes.jpg
Mechakong!:shrug:
 
visceral_instinct said:
Isn't their superior strength something to do with longer tendons that attach further from the joint?
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You beat me to it. I was about to comment that "muscle mass" isn't the be all and end all of strength.
Their skeleton is not quite the same as ours, nor, AFAIK is the placement of muscles/ tendons. The advantage is better leverage more than actual muscle mass.
 
You know how much stronger you are than your house cat? That's how much stronger a gorilla is than you.
 
Okay, that's the silverBach gorilla sorted.
How about the goldMozart gorilla?

And, dare I ask, the leadZeppelin gorilla?
 
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Dywyddyr said:
You beat me to it. I was about to comment that "muscle mass" isn't the be all and end all of strength. Their skeleton is not quite the same as ours, nor, AFAIK is the placement of muscles/ tendons. The advantage is better leverage more than actual muscle mass.
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Our anatomy has many compromises that result in less strength than the other species of Great Apes. For starters, many of the important muscles in our hips and thighs have been rerouted to support bipedal walking. Our gluteus maximus (the double-hemisphere shape of our buttocks) is attached much differently than theirs, because it pulls our femur back to keep our legs straight. Other muscles are used in concert with our unique kneecap, which allows us to lock our knees and stand erect for hours. Try doing that with bent knees!

We are the only primates who can lie on our backs stably. The others have to have one arm and the opposite leg elevated. This allows our babies to communicate with us and learn by watching our activities, during their incredibly long period of incapacitation. More compromises in our musculature.

Speaking of our babies, our gigantic brains would make it impossible for one to get through the birth canal. As a result, at birth their brains are much less developed (therefore smaller) than other primates--which is why they spend so long "growing up." Despite this, the human pelvis is incredibly wide compared to other apes, in order for the birth canal to be wide enough to even accommodate these early-born babies. So our feet are much farther apart than theirs, which puts tremendous strain on our lower body during bipedal walking, as we shift all of our weight over that huge distance from one leg to the other. Again, more muscle rerouting to bear the strain, and more compromises with overall strength.

BTW, that long "growing up" period demands that they be cared for by both parents, and in fact by the entire pack. And so, a major difference in our species's psychology, as well as physiology.
 
A friend of mine claimed that the Romans & other old cultures pitted various animals against each other in the arena in which gladiators fought.

He claimed that an adult male gorilla never lost to any animal. He claimed that an elephant was trained or goaded into attacking a gorilla. The gorilla managed to leap or climb onto the elephant's head or back & cause pain to the elephant, but did not kill it.

I have no way of verifying the above & anm not sure where my friend got his information.
 
Dinosaur said:
A friend of mine claimed that the Romans & other old cultures pitted various animals against each other in the arena in which gladiators fought.

He claimed that an adult male gorilla never lost to any animal. He claimed that an elephant was trained or goaded into attacking a gorilla. The gorilla managed to leap or climb onto the elephant's head or back & cause pain to the elephant, but did not kill it.

I have no way of verifying the above & anm not sure where my friend got his information.
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A fight between a gorilla and an elephant can only one out come, the elephant will easily kill the gorilla
 
How strong is a silverbach gorrila compared to a strong adult male human?

Depends in which environment one is placed - the gorilla's or the male human's?

In a mouse hole - the mouse rules.
 
IamJoseph said:
How strong is a silverbach gorrila compared to a strong adult male human?

Depends in which environment one is placed - the gorilla's or the male human's?

In a mouse hole - the mouse rules.
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What about things like King snakes that enter mouse holes with the direct intent of eating the mice it finds inside?
 
Alan McDougall said:
How Strong Are Gorillas?

To date, no research has been conducted into how strong gorillas are compared to humans. Comparisons cannot be made very easily. Some people say that a silverback male is ten times stronger than a man while others claim a silverback is 27 times stronger. However, neither argument has been proved. A gorilla male probably looks much stronger than he actually is, as he doesn't have that much more muscle tissue than humans.

Or what do the experts think?

And how about the other great apes

Regards

Alan
Click to expand...

http://www.slate.com/id/2212232

From the article thoughts from the early 1900s that chimps were 8 times stronger than humans have been corrected to chimps having twice the strength per weight as humans. A 90 lbs chimp is about as strong as a healthy young 180 lbs man.

If the gorillas are like chimps in strength then a 405 lbs Silverback being 2 1/4 times heavier than a 180 lbs man should be 4 1/2 times stronger than a man.
 
Alan McDougall: How can you be so certain of the following ?
A fight between a gorilla and an elephant can only one out come, the elephant will easily kill the gorilla
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If a gorilla allowed an elephant to stomp on him, it is obvious that the gorilla would be dead.

A gorilla is way more agile than an elephant, making it unlikely that the elephant could stomp on him. I do not think the trunk is much of a weapon unless the gorilla stands still. I find it hard to believe that the gorilla would lose, although it seems unlikely that the gorilla could kill the elephant. He could do a lot of damage if he managed to get on the elephant's back.
 
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