Wild Animals/Gorilla strength

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Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Jonathan Wright

Dootenheimar wrote at 2007-08-28 22:32:27
Yes no doubt that a Gorilla is stronger than a Normal human being, but I would seriously doubt that one could even compare to our strongest recorded men.



Paul Anderson recordedly Benchpressed 750lbs, lifted over 380lbs over head with one arm, squated over 1200lbs, and backpressed over 6500lbs! If a Gorilla was 8x stronger than that we wouldn't need machines...

Rod Weston wrote at 2008-04-16 10:35:31
I don't see why tests couldn't be done on animals in captivity. They would only lift what they wanted to. It's not cruel. A female chimp showed a 900 lb pull strength with one arm when angered, so logically a male gorilla could lift well over a ton. Look at it's size and power. It's built for it.

Doug wrote at 2009-06-22 16:22:18
Many years ago,(approx 30 yrs ago) I was at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The male gorilla at that time was named Bobo.  I witnessed him grab a full size truck tire and then turn the tire inside out, no problem at all. I wouldn't know how to calculate that kind of strength, but it was an amazing show of strength. He wasn't upset or anything, he was just playing with the tire.

B weetman wrote at 2010-05-08 06:46:38
It would be a good idea to calculate by task handling abilities so the nearest thing would be a human strongman champion as that would fill the required variables by removing movement balance and technique. on this basis a large silverback going by known anecdote would be 7 times as strong as the worlds strongest man and 14 times a regular strong human e.g a farm worker.

Wade A. Tisthammer wrote at 2010-07-23 21:48:48
According to http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/gorilla/physical-characteristics. the upper body strength of a gorilla is six times that of a human.

Don Rodrigo wrote at 2011-03-04 23:01:46
The St. Louis Zoo (MO) did a a series of tests of male gorilla in the 1950's, and these test results have been lost in the mists of time, which I find baffling.



The testers created a series of weighted barriers which the gorillas had to move out of the way to get to tasty food (this was their incentive to exert themselves#. Each barrier was designed to test different muscle groups.



Here are some results:



1223 lb overhead press



800 lb curl



500 lb one fingered pull #a device like the seated lat pull)



These are most likely not max efforts, but they do represent serious exertion by the gorillas at the St. Louis zoo.



These results make them 3-4 times stronger than the strongest humans, and about 10 times stronger than the average, sedentary modern human male.

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Jonathan Wright

Expertise

I can answer questions about wild mammals and other animals, as well as extinct animals and zoos. I am not an expert about every animal species. I can look up information from books and the internet, but can't verify if all the information is true. Please don't ask questions about: 1. Pets. I am not a vet. Please contact a vet if your pet is ill. You may need to spend some money if you want your pet to live. Don't get a pet if you don't know how to look after it and if you can't provide it with the space, food and possible companions that will help it live a healthy life. Don't take animals from the wild, unless they are ill and/or injured and you can protect them until a wildlife charity can help. It is cruel to take animals from their parents, especially if the parents will look for the babies, while putting their other babies at risk. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals or you may need a licence to look after some species. Please check with a local wildlife group. 2. Eggs: Please don't remove eggs from nests. The mother birds provide the right temperature for the eggs and won't sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them to see if they are fertile. If theys aren't fertile, they won't hatch. 3. Fights: Please don't ask about fights between different animals. These questions assume that individuals of two species fight each time they meet and that one species will always be victorious over another. This is untrue. There are cases where a live mouse has been fed to a venomous snake, bitten the snake leading to the snake's demise. 4: Diseases: Please ask doctors or other medical experts about diseases that you may catch from animals. I can't advise on how to deal with viruses, bacteria etc.

Experience

I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.

Organizations
WWF. ZSL. Natural History Museum. RSPB. London Bat Group.

Publications
Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group

Education/Credentials
BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' level in Zoology. 'O' Level in Biology.

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