Chimpanzees and gorillas are great apes, and, are by far the most popular of the great apes. The other two great apes are bonobos and orangutans. (For starters, apes are the “monkeys” without tails)
Chimpanzees and gorillas are found in many zoos across the world, but they are native to Africa and it is only here in Africa you can find them in their natural home of the jungle. Through the chimpanzee trekking and gorilla trekking tour experiences one is able to see face to face these incredible apes in their natural home!
Interestingly, even though chimps and gorillas are popular primates, a lot of people cannot easily tell the two apart. One will confuse a gorilla for a chimp and vice versa.
In this article I will compare the chimps and gorillas to help you know the major differences between the two primates, and also a few curious comparisons a lot of people make between the two.
Physical appearance & size:
Size
By appearance the gorilla is unmistakably much bigger than a chimpanzee. In comparison, the silverback gorilla which is the adult male gorilla weighs up to 450 pounds (204kg) while a fully grown male chimp can weigh up to 150 pounds (68kg).
When it comes to the standing height however, the chimp and gorilla actually stand “should-to-shoulder”, that is, stand at the same height of about 5ft (1.5meters). The chimp can also be taller than the gorilla, as some chimps may reach a height of 5.5f (1.68m). This would probably make the chimp “bigger” than the gorilla? No wonder for many it is not easy to tell the chimp and gorilla apart.
Hair
Gorillas are more hairy than the chimps. Perhaps this is the easiest way to differentiate gorillas and chimps looking at them up-close.
Strength – who beats the other between gorilla and chimp?
The gorilla is way stronger than the chimp, and in fact, it is estimated the strength of one silverback gorilla is equal to the strength of five chimps.
So if, a silverback gorilla gets hold of a chimp he would definitely rip it apart.
However, chimps are much more aggressive than the docile gorillas. What chimps lack in strength (in comparison to gorillas) they make it up with aggressiveness and incredible violence during a fight. Chimps fight so ferociously, that encounters between chimps and gorillas many, if not most, times see the gorillas fleeing from the severe beating by chimps. Chimps are known to pick tree branches and use them as sticks to whip the gorillas.
Climbing trees – who climbs better between chimp and gorilla?
Chimps are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their times in trees. They are therefore great tree climbers and are able to move/swing through trees with such swiftness and speed. They do however also come down to the ground as well and it is interesting sight to see them as they will make some steps on only their legs looking like real humans.
On the other hand, gorillas are more terrestrial, meaning they spend most of their time on the ground. They do climb trees but are not so good at it, but this largely is due to their massive weights. The lighter younger gorillas climb better. The gorillas (adult) do climb trees only when they really need to such as to pick fruits. It is common for the big gorillas to fall from trees and causalities have been recorded from those kinds of accidents.
Intelligence
Chimps are man’s closest relatives sharing 98.7 DNA with humans, while gorillas share about 98% with humans.
Chimps know how to make and use tools and solve complicated problems, which show higher intelligence than gorillas.