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Ape Strength: Myth vs Reality
Ape Strength: Myth vs Reality
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Ape Strength: Myth vs Reality
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 (05-09-2019, 10:12 AM)BorneanTiger Wrote:(04-12-2019, 11:04 AM)Shadow Wrote:(04-12-2019, 06:26 AM)GreenGrolar Wrote:(03-15-2019, 03:38 PM)brobear Wrote: https://www.junsanatomy.com/ Heh, I have seen that before and it looked like a fairy tale then and when reading it now, it looks like just the same. Like some guy have had good time while writing something in the spirit of Tarzan :) That description just looks for me hilarious :) So I am not surprised, but that is a good story at least :) First laugh starts when gorilla makes those 6 feet jumps up and down :  This reminds me of Baron Munchausen and his marvellous travels. Of course gorilla and predators threatening it are interesting things, but we know, that leopards hunt and kill them. In this thread I was hoping to find some proof from reliable observations about strength of gorilla. This article or novel or whatever isn´t quite that, imo :)  
From my observation, gorillas are generally underrated. Despite their relatively thin skin, gorillas are very powerful animals.
(09-27-2019, 09:00 PM)GreenGrolar Wrote: From my observation, gorillas are generally underrated. Despite their relatively thin skin, gorillas are very powerful animals. In what way underrated? Many people seem to think, that they are as strong as elephants even though they are just 150-200 kg and impossible to find anything to back up claims about "superstrength". Feel free to give some reasoning. I mean something else, that they look like powerful. Gorillas arm can look thick, but put it side by side with some other big animal and it´s not as thick anymore. 
I have to agree with shadow. The very fact that gorilla vs brown bear is popular and considered a debateable topic by many shows how overrated they are. Many dont even know they're preyed upon by leopards. In fact I think they might be the most overrated animal, and I'm a fan of the great apes.
(09-28-2019, 12:15 AM)Sully Wrote: I have to agree with shadow. The very fact that gorilla vs brown bear is popular and considered a debateable topic by many shows how overrated they are. Many dont even know they're preyed upon by leopards. In fact I think they might be the most overrated animal, and I'm a fan of the great apes. Gorillas are very interesting. Just surrounded a lot of myths, whatever is the reason. Seems to be difficult to find real information, which would be more than guessing when talking about strength. (09-27-2019, 10:22 PM)Shadow Wrote:(09-27-2019, 09:00 PM)GreenGrolar Wrote: From my observation, gorillas are generally underrated. Despite their relatively thin skin, gorillas are very powerful animals. While I doubt the gorilla would be as strong as an elephant and even a black bear, tiger, and lion would beat them more often than not at parity, I think a gorilla can at least kill leopards and even bears smaller than themselves (e.g.giant panda). They are tougher than some give credit for judging by these accounts: APPARENTLY, BACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY, IN CENTRAL AFRICA, GORILLAS AND LIONS COEXISTED. NOW LIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA ARE RESTRICTED TO FRAGMENTED AND ISOLATED POPULATIONS, SO THEY DONT COEXIST ANYMORE. HERE IS THE FIRST DOCUMENTED ACCOUNT OF A FIGHT BETWEEN A LION AND A GORILLA, THEY BOTH HURT EACH OTHER, LOOKS LIKE A TIE.  *This image is copyright of its original author paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TT18900226.2.13 MALE GORILLAS CAN FIGHT FIERCELY AND INFLICT SEVERE WOUNDS.  *This image is copyright of its original author Credited to King Kodiak. http://domainofthebears.proboards.com/thread/209/old-school-gorilla?page=5 Before man hunted wild life to the point of near extinction, the gorillas and lions have crossed paths.
A FULLY-GROWN GORILLA IS AN ANIMAL OF ENORMOUS STRENGTH AND HERCULEAN PROPORTIONS, AND A MATCH FOR ANY ENEMY. HE COULD, FOR INSTANCE, BREAK A LION’S NECK OR FOREARM WITH THE GREATEST EASE.
 *This image is copyright of its original author https://books.google.com.au/books?id=JogeAQAAMAAJ&q=Gorilla+forearm+strength&dq=Gorilla+forearm+strength&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y The gorilla has enormous strength according to this account. Credited to King Kodiak. http://domainofthebears.proboards.com/thread/209/old-school-gorilla?page=5 This orang utan is stronger than the sumo wrestler.
That old story about claimed fight between a lion and a gorilla has been posted here before and it´s a good example of old stories, which seem to be made to entertain people and to earn some money for the story teller. I can´t read more than a few lines before laughing :) Gorilla jumping 6 feet up and down to make a lion angry... if anyone ever see such incident in real world
 As a myth it´s a funny story. Same thing with that other source telling how a gorilla would break lions neck easily. There is absolutely nothing to back up such claim. Late 19th century and early 20th century were still times, when many fairy tales were easy to publish as "true stories" to amaze people. Today we know better and not all stories are taken seriously. In this thread have been shared new studies about chimpanzee and lion muscle fiber strength. Results indicate, that big cats have about twice as strong muscle fibers compared to chimpanzees. Gorilla then again is more or less a bigger version of chimpanzee. And when thinking big cat neck, they tend to be extremely strong as many clips of leopards, jaguars, tigers and lions show. They can lift very heavy carcasses and there are some clips showing how male lions drag big carcasses head up walking forward!! Anyone can think a big bag on ground, weight 300-500 kg and then what it would demand to drag it 30-50 meters, no wheels under.... That orangutan of course is strong, but if there would have been same sized (as orangutan) lion on the other side of that rope... Tigers and lions have done also same kind of stunts against multiple people same time. (09-29-2019, 07:30 PM)GreenGrolar Wrote: A FULLY-GROWN GORILLA IS AN ANIMAL OF ENORMOUS STRENGTH AND HERCULEAN PROPORTIONS, AND A MATCH FOR ANY ENEMY. HE COULD, FOR INSTANCE, BREAK A LION’S NECK OR FOREARM WITH THE GREATEST EASE. When reading old stories concerning gorillas and that they would be something extraordinary, this photo is one good reminder about reality, when thinking how easy it would be to break forearm of a lion for a gorilla....  *This image is copyright of its original author Gorilla can look big when side by side with a human, but look at that forearm compared to this man. It´s good to remember, that lion can be easily over 200 kg and pure muscle, their limbs can look thinner than for instance gorillas when there is nothing to compare with in same photo giving perspective, what we can understand. But photo like this should make it clear, that it´s just illusion, those limbs have to be strong, these animals hunt prey weighing multiple times their own body weight. It demands tremendous strength with skills. Idea of this thread is to find reliable information about real strength of gorilla and especially when compared with other animals. For instance with proven powerhouses as bears, tigers, lions etc. I think, that we all have seen most of old myths. But claiming that a gorilla could break neck or leg of a lion with ease... for me impossible to buy that claim, lions are just too big and robust animals.
a silverback gorilla would be able to drag any animal a lion or tiger drags. It just does not need to.
 (09-30-2019, 12:15 AM)Shadow Wrote:(09-30-2019, 12:01 AM)Roberto Wrote: a silverback gorilla would be able to drag any animal a lion or tiger drags. It just does not need to. A gorilla wouldn't be able to drag comparable weights as a big cat nor would a big cat be able to lift comparable weights as a gorilla. It's not a matter of strength but more so a matter of morphology. Gorillas having long arms, huge lats and traps and short legs will be able to lift "deadlift" far more weight off the ground while big cats having flexible spines, being quadrupedal and having claws for gripping will be able to drag far more weight. It's like saying "a big cat cant climb as well as a great ape so that makes a great ape stronger" There's multiple factors that go into it.
To give some perspective.
This bear, smaller one on this video: This tiger: And this lion: That smaller bear Felix, that tiger Igor and lion Aslan are all 250 kg. Felix is smallish/average Eurasian brown bear and Igor and Aslan are big ones, what comes to tigers and lions. They are in sizes, which have been reported also in wild. All of them are bigger than gorillas and very strong animals. When saying, that a silverback gorilla could do the same as these or that it would be in some way stronger, it would be very interesting to see if that is based on something else than some opinions. Side by side with these, a gorilla is quite small. And think about situation with that bigger bear, Taquka... silverback gorilla would be like a cub, just like Felix is compared to Taquka. Not at all looking so strong anymore :) |
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