Silverback gorillas

Gorillas are the largest primates in existence and have very similar DNA to that of human beings. It is understandable why they capture our imagination as they do. Gorillas are fascinating and incredibly strong animals. People often compare human strength to gorillas, mainly due to their similarities. As with humans, gorillas have two arms and legs with five fingers and toes on each. Even their facial mapping bears a strong resemblance to ours. These animals are very intelligent and really strong. They can tear down large banana trees just to get to the fruit as proof of this strength.

Generally, gorillas are 4 to 9 times stronger than the average male human being. According to the Guinness Book of Records, a silverback gorilla can lift 815 kg (1800 lbs) of dead weight. In comparison, a well-trained human being can lift a maximum of 410 kg (900 lbs). This is a very rough calculation, and there are many variables to consider, but it gives us a good general picture.

Trying to compare gorilla strength with human strength is not a new phenomenon. Many people have wondered how much stronger are gorillas than humans. In 1924, a rare experiment was conducted to compare ape and human strength. A 165 lb male chimpanzee named ‘Boma’ was able to pull a force of 847 lb on a dynamometer, whereas a human of the same weight could only pull 210 lb. Extrapolating this information, the 1989 Guinness Book of World Records estimates a gorilla could rise to 2000 lb.

A silverback gorilla’s strength is particularly impressive when applied to specific actions, especially when the action is related to interacting with their environment. For example, a gorilla can easily snap a thick bamboo cane, exhibiting strength of about 20 times greater than the average human. They may bite into the bamboo before snapping it into very thick bamboo, but even this shows the gorilla’s natural aptitude in using their strength.