The Great Apes

[Pckts]

(01-28-2020, 07:50 PM)The Panther Wrote:

(01-28-2020, 03:55 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:

(01-21-2020, 12:30 PM)The Panther Wrote: o unless there's proof that these males are so full of gas to the point it inflates them this much, then there really is no denying the obvious size difference here, and we shouldn't discard potential weights beyond 250kg either. It makes a lot of sense for an old mountain gorilla to be built like this, after all, silverback mountain gorillas can live relatively sedentary lives for 20 to 30 years and only travel short distances when they eventually move. They also consume huge quantities of vegetation daily within that time, which should mean they would gain considerable amounts of weight by the time they reach their twilight years. So we just don't know to what extent extra gas adds to their size, but if it adds anything noticeable, then Shadow's version of it makes the most sense when you include obesity.

I am agree in the obesity issue with @Shadow, but even then a figure of 250 kg seems to much, now that I saw that comparative image of Guhonda and the man.

It will be good to know if is possible for a gorilla to be fat enoght to reach such sizes in the wild. We know in captivity, but in the wild?

In the picture of the dead gorilla that I put we can see the huge chest girth of the specimen which is typical for herbivore animals that fermet its food. I will try to found the documentary when this biologist mentioned that the gas amount in gorillas is so huge that they bellies can litterary go flat if they stop eating.

I understand that, but the comparison between him and the man in that position doesn't necessarily prove whether he's over 250 kg or not, because gorillas don't seem to grow much in overall width, but mainly in stomach and chest girth. That photo with the man gives a good idea of how tall Guhonda is at the shoulder but not really his weight. I always liked this photo because it at least gave good perspective for his height. Now, look at 296 kg Samson, he wasn't extremely wide for a near 300 kg gorilla, even 300 kg humans look a lot wider than that. So it shows gorillas don't get too much wider even after significant weight gain, in fact there are males as wide if not wider than Guhonda (mainly around the shoulders). So Guhonda was never the most impressive when it comes to build but always impressive in weight and girth. His silverback son actually seems more impressive in build, he also seems slightly taller and longer but clearly doesn't have the girth of his father.

The problem with the gas argument is that there's no proof that intestinal gas adds much to their size. So we can't act like that's the main reason for their bulk, when it's most likely due to decades of living that lifestyle. So if what you implied was true, then many wild males would look as big as Guhonda or close, yet only some males are similar to him and they just happen to be old and experienced mountain gorillas just like him. Anyway, hopefully you find your documentary so we can get some clarity on this.

Now, I do believe mountain gorillas have a 'leaner period', mainly after leaving the Hagenia forest for their favorite food like bamboo shoots, which happens during the bamboo season. In the bamboo zone they eat less varied food at smaller quantities than their Hagenia home, in fact bamboo shoots apparently make up to 90% of their diet during this season. https://gorillafund.org/what-do-gorillas...no-bamboo/. So they likely get a bit leaner after spending the season in this zone, and regain their size in the Hagenia forests. There is also another type of area that has less food variety, they would go to the alpine tundra and mainly feed on the Senecio plants, but it seems less favored than the bamboo shoots.

I have a hard time believing gas would play any role other than bloating which doesn't add mass it just makes you feel more full.
Herbivores in general have a much longer digestive tract and thus food stays in their system for a much longer period of time as they extract every nutrient they can.
I also think that it's obviously hard to tell if one is larger or smaller than another in muscle mass but that doesn't mean it's not pronounced,  I'm sure if you put them side by side you'd be able to see the difference, whether in muscle definition & density or body robusticity, it's an occurrence that happens in all animals. Reply