There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
(09-30-2019, 05:53 PM)johnny rex Wrote: Regarding the largest wild silverback, the weight of the Ambam specimen from Cameroon which is 574-588 lbs (which is widely regarded as the world record heaviest silverback, you can see it was quoted in Wikipedia article about gorilla) is nothing more than guess-timation. They'd never measured the real weight of the silverback manually so the real weight is unknown.
Good to know that, I think that the maximum weight for a gorilla, reliable recorded, is about 220 kg. I had the full list of all the maximim weights of gorillas, but I lost it.
But do you really think that's the heaviest they get? Because I find it hard to believe males like Guhonda weigh about or less than 220 kg, and this is coming from someone who hates big estimations without good comparisons. Old males like Guhonda seem to match some of the heaviest captive gorillas in size, albeit more muscular and healthier. I just feel like there isn't enough evidence on their size to determine if that's the heaviest they can attain or not, plus it would be unrealistic if that's all they could reach in the wild to be honest, wouldn't you agree?
Please don't get me wrong, I understand that may be the biggest on record, but is it really the biggest they can get to?
My point is Eastern gorillas including mountain gorillas are much larger than the Western specimens. The Ambam specimen is a Western Lowland gorilla, that's why I doubt it when the hunter estimated its weight to be 588 lbs.
(09-30-2019, 09:37 PM)The Panther Wrote: But do you really think that's the heaviest they get? Because I find it hard to believe males like Guhonda weigh about or less than 220 kg, and this is coming from someone who hates big estimations without good comparisons. Old males like Guhonda seem to match some of the heaviest captive gorillas in size, albeit more muscular and healthier. I just feel like there isn't enough evidence on their size to determine if that's the heaviest they can attain or not, plus it would be unrealistic if that's all they could reach in the wild to be honest, wouldn't you agree?
Please don't get me wrong, I understand that may be the biggest on record, but is it really the biggest they can get to?
You have a good point, the sample size of gorillas hunte/captured in the wild is very small, compared with other animals. So that may influence the posible specimens that we may found.
For all the studies that I could found previously, I remember that the heaviest male reliable recorded was one of 219 kg (Schaller, 1964), but there is other modern record of 220 kg (Briggs, 2018).
Here are the images:
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
So, there is the posibility of heavier males, but for the moment, and based in the few samples available, those are the biggest ones.
By the way, here are some measurements that may interest you.
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
So Schaller had information about adult males and average weight was 375 lbs, 170 kg. Then again that later book looks like to have information about Guhonda, just written by Briggs and Connolly as Guhondo. Such typos aren´t anything too special, I think. It looks like, that Guhonda has been weighed then 2018?
Really, they managed to weigh Guhonda, where?
That would be interesting to know more.
Here one example about it, how myths can start to live... :)
Quote:
"I’m standing 10 feet away from Guhonda, a Mountain Gorilla weighing a staggering 1100 pounds. No fences separate us; no vehicle waits to whisk us away to safety. I am, for all intents and purposes, a guest in his home, the thick bush of Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda. I wait for the sense of danger to appear, the panic surely wrought by such close proximity to an animal as powerful as this. But it does not come. Instead I feel oddly at ease, Guhonda and his Gorilla family leisurely going about their day, oblivious to the human visitors who have traveled far and wide to catch a glimpse of him. Suddenly Guhonda springs to life and dashes forward with unnatural speed, grunting and pounding his chest like his famed cinematic cousin, a signal to the rest of the group it’s time to get moving. We stand in gleeful awe and understand King Kong has nothing on Guhonda, the real king of this remote world."
brotherbear\ dateline='\'1435225875' Wrote: When we read or watch a nature program about the gorilla, we hear various assumptions of their strength. I have heard the strength of a silver-back estimated to as much as 10 times the strength of a grown man. The truth is, the strength of a gorilla has never actually been tested. But, I would guess that their upper-body strength would prove to be impressive. I saw on a documentary a gorilla snap a large stick of bamboo seemingly without effort. On another documentary, pointed out to me by Big Bonns, I watched a heavy silver-back who was sitting on the ground, reach up to a tree branch with one hand and pull himself up onto the branch; again seemingly without noticable effort.
Theres another video of a gorilla snapping a banana tree and pulling it out of the ground and my favorite, the gorilla who walks past the forest guard, grabs his foot and just starts dragging him like a rag doll with little effort.
They are built for strength, especially upper body, core and back strength.
Yeah,especially impressive in arms,muscles supporting the neck and shoulders
I think that maybe that figure was just an estimation. Again, if you can check with the facebook webpage will be perfect, just to make sure. For the moment, and based in the pictures, a figure of 220 kg for that male is not out of question.
I don't want to drag this too long but i've been thinking about this for quite some time now. Personally I now believe old males like Guhonda could very well be bigger than 220 kg, these males also seem to rival big obese captive gorillas in size, which is pretty interesting. As far as I'm concerned the 220 kg weight for Guhonda was likely just an estimate, because there seems to be no evidence of him ever being weighed, I also doubt they even attempt to sedate and weigh dominant silverbacks due to their groups, it's mainly only lone silverbacks that get sedated by the looks of it.
Chimanuka and Grauer's gorillas in general have also been given that same 250 kg estimation, which is interesting how they come up with that. Anyway, Senkwekwe is the only one with potential it seems, seeing as he was dead when they said it, so that would've given them the perfect opportunity to weigh him at the time. Senkwekwe like a few of the current old males was a very large silverback, him and Guhonda do seem very similar in size too.
Here's Senkwekwe and Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
So if Senkwekwe was 250 kg (likely still an estimate), then wouldn't Guhonda weigh around that if it was the case? Because they do look very similar in size. I hope I'm not dragging this too much, I just wanted to give out more of my thoughts on this. And don't worry, I don't think they're 300 or 400 kg or anything, I just think they're likely more than 220 kg. Now, if they have weighed him and it's been proven he's just 220 kg, then I would accept it without hesitation.
Sorry for going on about this, I just wish there was more evidence for all of this, maybe then this would've been settled by now.
I think that maybe that figure was just an estimation. Again, if you can check with the facebook webpage will be perfect, just to make sure. For the moment, and based in the pictures, a figure of 220 kg for that male is not out of question.
I don't want to drag this too long but i've been thinking about this for quite some time now. Personally I now believe old males like Guhonda could very well be bigger than 220 kg, these males also seem to rival big obese captive gorillas in size, which is pretty interesting. As far as I'm concerned the 220 kg weight for Guhonda was likely just an estimate, because there seems to be no evidence of him ever being weighed, I also doubt they even attempt to sedate and weigh dominant silverbacks due to their groups, it's mainly only lone silverbacks that get sedated by the looks of it.
One other thing I need to mention, is certain males have also been given similar to larger estimations, even though Guhonda is considered the largest. I remember reading somewhere that the dead silverback Senkwekwe was said to weigh 250 kg, it also mentions it here but I don't remember reading this one.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4WTKrTEZmPQC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=senkwekwe+250+kg&source=bl&ots=DywWPgJiJC&sig=ACfU3U02ZYx2mBP8z62a-xRqEf-wuvgsKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikqKCEzfrkAhXRolwKHVvyDsAQ6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=twopage&q=senkwekwe%20250%20kg&f=false
Chimanuka and Grauer's gorillas in general have also been given that same 250 kg estimation, which is interesting how they come up with that. Anyway, Senkwekwe is the only one with potential it seems, seeing as he was dead when they said it, so that would've given them the perfect opportunity to weigh him at the time. Senkwekwe like a few of the current old males was a very large silverback, him and Guhonda do seem very similar in size too.
Here's Senkwekwe and Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
So if Senkwekwe was 250 kg (likely still an estimate), then wouldn't Guhonda weigh around that if it was the case? Because they do look very similar in size. I hope I'm not dragging this too much, I just wanted to give out more of my thoughts on this. And don't worry, I don't think they're 300 or 400 kg or anything, I just think they're likely more than 220 kg. Now, if they have weighed him and it's been proven he's just 220 kg, then I would accept it without hesitation.
Sorry for going on about this, I just wish there was more evidence for all of this, maybe then this would've been settled by now.
Don't worry, you are not dragging anything. For the contrary, we are trying to get to the truth and I like that!
I am agree with you, base on the evidence, I think that the figure of 220 kg is just an estimation for Guhonda, not a real weight. Now, if he is over that weight and up to 250 kg, I don't know, as my experience with gorilla's weights and dimentions is limited. The only thing that I can say is that the belly is normally full of gas, as they are mainly herbivores and that produce a lot of gas and inflate them. I remember this because in a documentary (I no longer remeber which) they say that if a gorilla stop eating, they will be flat in a matter of days.
If I take in count that, there is a posibility that they look heavier than he is, but like I say, I don't know about gorilla biology and how many fat can they storage in they body. They look similiar to captive gorilas, but as far I know, those captive gorilas in the modern zoos are not as heavy, weighing between 180 - 200 kg in most of the cases, but I may be very wrong on that, so I will like to investigate a little more.
For the moment, and based in a very small sample, we know that gorillas in the wild weight up to 219 kg (based in the record quoted by Dr Schaller and other sources) but they have potencial for more, specially the old males, that because of age and a relative "sedentarism" (which I doubt in wild animals), may cause a little of fat (not obesity) in they bodies.
I think that maybe that figure was just an estimation. Again, if you can check with the facebook webpage will be perfect, just to make sure. For the moment, and based in the pictures, a figure of 220 kg for that male is not out of question.
I don't want to drag this too long but i've been thinking about this for quite some time now. Personally I now believe old males like Guhonda could very well be bigger than 220 kg, these males also seem to rival big obese captive gorillas in size, which is pretty interesting. As far as I'm concerned the 220 kg weight for Guhonda was likely just an estimate, because there seems to be no evidence of him ever being weighed, I also doubt they even attempt to sedate and weigh dominant silverbacks due to their groups, it's mainly only lone silverbacks that get sedated by the looks of it.
One other thing I need to mention, is certain males have also been given similar to larger estimations, even though Guhonda is considered the largest. I remember reading somewhere that the dead silverback Senkwekwe was said to weigh 250 kg, it also mentions it here but I don't remember reading this one.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4WTKrTEZmPQC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=senkwekwe+250+kg&source=bl&ots=DywWPgJiJC&sig=ACfU3U02ZYx2mBP8z62a-xRqEf-wuvgsKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikqKCEzfrkAhXRolwKHVvyDsAQ6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=twopage&q=senkwekwe%20250%20kg&f=false
Chimanuka and Grauer's gorillas in general have also been given that same 250 kg estimation, which is interesting how they come up with that. Anyway, Senkwekwe is the only one with potential it seems, seeing as he was dead when they said it, so that would've given them the perfect opportunity to weigh him at the time. Senkwekwe like a few of the current old males was a very large silverback, him and Guhonda do seem very similar in size too.
Here's Senkwekwe and Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
So if Senkwekwe was 250 kg (likely still an estimate), then wouldn't Guhonda weigh around that if it was the case? Because they do look very similar in size. I hope I'm not dragging this too much, I just wanted to give out more of my thoughts on this. And don't worry, I don't think they're 300 or 400 kg or anything, I just think they're likely more than 220 kg. Now, if they have weighed him and it's been proven he's just 220 kg, then I would accept it without hesitation.
Sorry for going on about this, I just wish there was more evidence for all of this, maybe then this would've been settled by now.
Don't worry, you are not dragging anything. For the contrary, we are trying to get to the truth and I like that!
I am agree with you, base on the evidence, I think that the figure of 220 kg is just an estimation for Guhonda, not a real weight. Now, if he is over that weight and up to 250 kg, I don't know, as my experience with gorilla's weights and dimentions is limited. The only thing that I can say is that the belly is normally full of gas, as they are mainly herbivores and that produce a lot of gas and inflate them. I remember this because in a documentary (I no longer remeber which) they say that if a gorilla stop eating, they will be flat in a matter of days.
If I take in count that, there is a posibility that they look heavier than he is, but like I say, I don't know about gorilla biology and how many fat can they storage in they body. They look similiar to captive gorilas, but as far I know, those captive gorilas in the modern zoos are not as heavy, weighing between 180 - 200 kg in most of the cases, but I may be very wrong on that, so I will like to investigate a little more.
For the moment, and based in a very small sample, we know that gorillas in the wild weight up to 219 kg (based in the record quoted by Dr Schaller and other sources) but they have potencial for more, specially the old males, that because of age and a relative "sedentarism" (which I doubt in wild animals), may cause a little of fat (not obesity) in they bodies.
Let's continue investigating.
So the largest verified is 219 kg and tallest is 196 cm and how big is the reliable largest captive one?
I think that maybe that figure was just an estimation. Again, if you can check with the facebook webpage will be perfect, just to make sure. For the moment, and based in the pictures, a figure of 220 kg for that male is not out of question.
I don't want to drag this too long but i've been thinking about this for quite some time now. Personally I now believe old males like Guhonda could very well be bigger than 220 kg, these males also seem to rival big obese captive gorillas in size, which is pretty interesting. As far as I'm concerned the 220 kg weight for Guhonda was likely just an estimate, because there seems to be no evidence of him ever being weighed, I also doubt they even attempt to sedate and weigh dominant silverbacks due to their groups, it's mainly only lone silverbacks that get sedated by the looks of it.
One other thing I need to mention, is certain males have also been given similar to larger estimations, even though Guhonda is considered the largest. I remember reading somewhere that the dead silverback Senkwekwe was said to weigh 250 kg, it also mentions it here but I don't remember reading this one.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4WTKrTEZmPQC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=senkwekwe+250+kg&source=bl&ots=DywWPgJiJC&sig=ACfU3U02ZYx2mBP8z62a-xRqEf-wuvgsKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikqKCEzfrkAhXRolwKHVvyDsAQ6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=twopage&q=senkwekwe%20250%20kg&f=false
Chimanuka and Grauer's gorillas in general have also been given that same 250 kg estimation, which is interesting how they come up with that. Anyway, Senkwekwe is the only one with potential it seems, seeing as he was dead when they said it, so that would've given them the perfect opportunity to weigh him at the time. Senkwekwe like a few of the current old males was a very large silverback, him and Guhonda do seem very similar in size too.
Here's Senkwekwe and Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
Guhonda
*This image is copyright of its original author
So if Senkwekwe was 250 kg (likely still an estimate), then wouldn't Guhonda weigh around that if it was the case? Because they do look very similar in size. I hope I'm not dragging this too much, I just wanted to give out more of my thoughts on this. And don't worry, I don't think they're 300 or 400 kg or anything, I just think they're likely more than 220 kg. Now, if they have weighed him and it's been proven he's just 220 kg, then I would accept it without hesitation.
Sorry for going on about this, I just wish there was more evidence for all of this, maybe then this would've been settled by now.
Don't worry, you are not dragging anything. For the contrary, we are trying to get to the truth and I like that!
I am agree with you, base on the evidence, I think that the figure of 220 kg is just an estimation for Guhonda, not a real weight. Now, if he is over that weight and up to 250 kg, I don't know, as my experience with gorilla's weights and dimentions is limited. The only thing that I can say is that the belly is normally full of gas, as they are mainly herbivores and that produce a lot of gas and inflate them. I remember this because in a documentary (I no longer remeber which) they say that if a gorilla stop eating, they will be flat in a matter of days.
If I take in count that, there is a posibility that they look heavier than he is, but like I say, I don't know about gorilla biology and how many fat can they storage in they body. They look similiar to captive gorilas, but as far I know, those captive gorilas in the modern zoos are not as heavy, weighing between 180 - 200 kg in most of the cases, but I may be very wrong on that, so I will like to investigate a little more.
For the moment, and based in a very small sample, we know that gorillas in the wild weight up to 219 kg (based in the record quoted by Dr Schaller and other sources) but they have potencial for more, specially the old males, that because of age and a relative "sedentarism" (which I doubt in wild animals), may cause a little of fat (not obesity) in they bodies.
Let's continue investigating.
So the largest verified is 219 kg and tallest is 196 cm and how big is the reliable largest captive one?
Yes, because of the limited information, that's the largest verified for now. For captivity, the heaviest gorilla on record was said to be 652 lbs last time I checked, his name was Samson from Milwaukee zoo. There's not much on height or length unfortunately.
10-01-2019, 07:41 PM( This post was last modified: 10-01-2019, 07:44 PM by GuateGojira )
(10-01-2019, 07:19 PM)Hello Wrote: So the largest verified is 219 kg and tallest is 196 cm.
Well, about the weight yes, and this is supported by Dr Schaller and also by Gerald Wood in the book "Animal Facts and Feats" (1978).
However, about the height, there are contradictions. Wood (1978) says that the tallest male accuratelly measured (from crown to heel) was of 188 cm in real height, hunted in the Mt Karisimbi, eastern Congo. There are other figures of higher specimens but all seems to be incorrectly taken. The images of that page are in the first posts of this topic.
However, this very reliable source quote a higher figure for the eastern gorillas, at up to 196 cm in standing height:
*This image is copyright of its original author
Finally, it is the "Animal Records" book of Mark Carwardine of 2008, check this:
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
Interestingly Wood (1978) do not mention any height for the male shot by Commander Gatti, and the sources contradict themselfs as Wood says that the gorilla from Commander Gatti is correct but Cawardine says that is not confirmed, and quote other male of the same weight, in the same region.
That is the problem with the sources, I will normally follow the investigations of Wood, but Carwardine seems also reliable.
Check the image of the record gorilla (based on weight):
*This image is copyright of its original author
Wood do not quote its height probably because that gorilla doesn't look like one of 198 cm in height. Probably it was about the same height than the Commander Gatti.
The figure of 206 cm tall of Carwardine is incorrect.
I think that the modern silverbacks like Guhonda seems bigger than this specimen. What do you think?
(10-01-2019, 08:18 PM)GuateGojira Wrote: Check the image of the record gorilla (based on weight):
*This image is copyright of its original author
Wood do not quote its height probably because that gorilla doesn't look like one of 198 cm in height. Probably it was about the same height than the Commander Gatti.
The figure of 206 cm tall of Carwardine is incorrect.
I think that the modern silverbacks like Guhonda seems bigger than this specimen. What do you think?
That man is definitely tall, he towers over the Hunters and the Gorilla shown has bent knees and splayed outwards while still being taller than Gatti, I'd say 6'6'' for this gorilla seems reasonable.
