Weight of an adult gorilla. Five largest hominids - Mad Zoologist - LJ. Male and female gorilla: the main differences

The largest primate. Gorilla. The largest primate is the male gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) living in the lowland forests of Eastern Congo (the former Republic of Zaire). Its weight exceeds 163 kg, and its height reaches 180 cm.
(Mammals. Primates.)

The highest primate. Gorilla. The tallest (from the crest on the head to the heels) recorded for a gorilla was a male mountain gorilla shot in the eastern part of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1938. His height reached 1.95 m.
(Mammals. Primates.)

The heaviest primate. Gorilla. The heaviest monkey that lived in captivity was a male mountain gorilla named N "gagia. His weight reached 310 kg. He died at the San Diego Zoo, California, USA, in 1944.
(Mammals. Primates.)

The smallest primate. Mouse lemur. The smallest true primate (excluding tupai - primitive primates, in many ways similar to shrews) is the pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus), recently discovered in Madagascar. The length of the head and body is 62 mm, the length of the tail is 13.6 cm, and the weight is approximately 306 g.
(Mammals. Primates.)

The largest pinniped. Sea Elephant. The pinnipeds order includes common seals, eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) and walruses. The largest representative of pinnipeds is the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), which lives in the region of the subantarctic islands. Its maximum girth is 3.7 m, and its weight is 2000-3500 kg.
(Mammals. Pinnipeds.)

The smallest pinniped. Fur seal. The smallest pinniped is the Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis). Adult females reach an average length of 1.2 m, and their weight is approximately 27 kg. Males are usually larger, up to 1.5 m in length and weighing up to 64 kg.
(Mammals. Pinnipeds.)

The fastest pinniped. Sea lion. The fastest swimming speed ever recorded was in a California sea lion (Zaiophus californianus) that swam a short distance in one spurt at a speed of 40 km/h.
(Mammals. Pinnipeds.)

The fastest pinniped. Crab-eater. The highest speed of movement on land was observed in the crabeater (Lobodon carcinophagus) - 25 km/h.
(Mammals. Pinnipeds.)

The largest rodent. Capybara. In the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), which lives in the northern part of South America, the body length (with the head) is 1.0-1.3 m, and the weight can reach 79 kg. However, one capybara, who lived in captivity, became obese, and her weight was as much as 113 kg.
(Mammals. Rodents.)

The smallest rodents Dwarf hamster. The northern pygmy hamster (Baiomystaylori), which lives in Mexico and in the states of Arizona and Texas, USA, as well as the three-toed pygmy jerboa (Salpingotulus michaelis) from Pakistan, has a head length with a body of 3.6 cm, and a tail length of 7.2 cm .
(Mammals. Rodents.)

Largest ratite birds. Ostrich. It has been recorded that the height of the male African ostrich (Struthio c. camelus) can reach 2 m 74 cm.

The highest flying (keel) birds. Crane. The tallest flying birds are cranes, wading birds of the Gruidae order. The growth of some of them reaches almost 2 m.
(Birds. The largest and smallest.)

The smallest. Hummingbird bee. Male bee hummingbirds (Mellisuga helenae), living in Cuba and on about. Pinos, weigh 1.6 g, and their length is 5.7 cm. Half of the length is the tail and beak. The females are somewhat larger.
(Birds. The largest and smallest.)

The smallest. Little Falcon. The smallest among the birds of prey are the black-footed baby falcon (Microhierax fringillarius) from Southeast Asia and the white-breasted shrike (M. latifrons) from the northwestern part of the island. Borneo. The average body length for both species is 14-15 cm, including a 5 cm long tail, and a weight of about 35 g.
(Birds. The largest and smallest.)

Male gorilla (all photos are clickable)

Gorillas belong to the order of primates, that is, they are great apes. They are very similar to people: they can walk on their lower limbs, deftly use their hands, have facial expressions, their blood has groups, and the structure of DNA matches that of a human.

Their habitats are African rainforests, plains and mountains. In accordance with this, lowland and mountain gorillas are distinguished.

The word "gorilla" was given to the world by the Carthaginian navigator Gannon, who sailed to the shores of West Africa 2500 years ago, where he discovered and described "wild hairy people." Much later, great apes were discovered in both East and Central Africa. And by the 1930s, science had a lot of information about these monkeys and a lot of their names: engina, gorilla gin, gin, mountain gorilla, etc. Until the American scientist Harold Coolidge determined that they were all one species.

Modern science knows three subspecies of gorillas that differ in habitats: western valley (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon), mountain (mountain forests around Lake Kivu), eastern valley (forests near Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River). Only a specialist can see their differences. In general, this is a very large black monkey, whose height reaches two meters, weighing 250-300 kg, with a large head, powerful chest, noticeable belly, long arms and short legs. The body is covered with hair, except for the face, ears, hands and feet. These monkeys have a very expressive face: under prominent superciliary arches, deep-set eyes, wide nostrils, tightly compressed lips.

mom and baby

In nature, gorillas live in herds of up to 30 individuals. Their daily routine is simple: food - sleep, sleep - food. They sleep a lot, for the night they arrange nests in trees or in bamboo thickets. Each arranges a place to sleep for the night. Even cubs know how to arrange a place for themselves to rest. They eat mainly plant foods: young shoots of trees, berries, nettles, celery.

The gorilla is a social animal, living in a family group led by a mature male, identifiable by its silvery-gray back. In addition to him and the females, the family has several young males who are brothers or sons of the head of the pack, they help him protect the group from enemies, mainly poisonous snakes and boas, as well as from other monkeys and humans. The leader himself is very strong and brutal, but in relation to his wives and cubs he is kind and gentle. In terms of procreation, the choice remains with the female, she herself determines when she will enter into a relationship with the leader, and can leave the family if feelings fade away.

Pregnancy in a female lasts 251-289 days, the newborn weighs a kilogram and a half, he is naked, without teeth, looks like a child. During the first three months, the baby learns to focus his eyes, recognize his relatives, respond to motherly caress and make many complex movements to explore the world. At the same time, he masters the way of riding on his mother. Six months later, this is already a tomboy, he still feeds on mother's milk, but is already trying adult food. Until about four years old, she continues to be with her mother, even if she has another baby, the female sleeps along with all the small children. A gorilla giving birth for the first time is helped by more experienced females. The worst thing for a cub is when, when moving to other places, it breaks off its mother's back and gets lost in the thickets - then it will not survive.

Gorilla female and her baby

By the age of seven, the gorilla reaches puberty. The grown-up daughters of the leader leave the group to the males of other families. The eldest sons remain in the family as heirs. And the younger ones leave to try their luck in other territories and create their own families.

Like all social animals, gorillas don't like conflict. But when threatened, the male leader becomes scary. His fury has been described by many researchers, we know about it from films. The leader, having become enraged, throws his head back and begins to hoot intermittently, the hooting gradually grows and merges into a continuous roar. Having reached a certain limit, the roar stops, and the leader tears off the leaf and puts it between his lips. At this time, it is better not to get in his way, because the leaf in the mouth is a sign of violent actions. Kindred at this time move away and find shelter. And the male, standing up, beats his chest, then pulls out bunches of grass or bushes, violently rushes forward (everyone who gets in his way at this moment can be killed) and puts all his anger into hitting the ground. A few blows - and the leader calms down, sits on the ground and looks around him. The frightened family comes out of their shelters. The rest of the gorilla's emotions are in the eyes, her gaze is able to express all shades of mood, from stormy joy to despair and annoyance.

Gorillas are suffering from human intervention, their numbers are declining, but thanks to the research of scientists, we have learned a lot about them and, it is likely that there will be many discoveries related to these great apes.

The most interesting animals for humans are monkeys. And the reason is not only in the visual similarity of individuals, but also in the unique similarity both in behavior and in thinking. Everyone knows the story from the movie "King Kong Lives".

A hulk taller than 9 meters is fantastic, but in reality, the size of gorillas can reach quite impressive sizes. What is the largest gorilla recorded in the history of mankind, and where does the largest representative of his family now live? TOP 5 largest gorillas known to mankind in the world.

#1 Barcelona Mascot: Albino Snowball

Gorilla - a wild animal, lives in captivity half as much as in their natural environment - wild jungles and plains. It is believed that in 1964 the rarest large albino gorilla was born, which lived in captivity for 40 years. Snowball is the affectionate name of a gentle and huge wild animal that was captured and transported from Equatorial Guinea to Barcelona back in 1966.

In the central zoo of Barcelona, ​​​​Snowball has become a favorite not only for visitors, but also for all the staff. He was unique not only for his unnatural white skin and coat, but also for the color of his eyes. In albinos, all parts of the body are white, and the eyes are no exception. Snowball, on the other hand, had naturally unnatural blue eyes.

During the years of his life at the zoo, Snezhok became a father 22 times, and for the last three years the male has been battling a serious illness - skin cancer. Scientists claim that a recessive mutant genome has become a possible cause of such a complex disease.

After a short painful treatment, the doctors decided to euthanize the terminally ill animal. To alleviate Snowball's suffering, a painless euthanasia procedure was performed on November 24, 2003. During his life, Snowball became the owner of more than one record. Three major records are documented:

1. The largest gorilla living in captivity (at the time of 2003, Snowball was 165 cm tall and weighed 178 kg);
2. A unique albino gorilla (there are still no similar cases in nature that have been officially certified by a person);
3. The most expensive animal ever purchased by the institution (15,000 pesetas).

Snowball, over the years of living at the zoo, gave birth to 22 babies, and not one of them today has the albino gene.

#2 Biggest Slave Gorilla

The difficulties of breeding gorillas in captivity are the number of diseases and the relatively passive lifestyle. Man, trying to tame wild nature, took risks and experiments that were not always doomed to success. The first successful experiment in the world was the gorilla Kolo. She was born in captivity at the Ohio Zoo and immediately became the very first gorilla to appear in captivity, and was not brought from the wild. Her records didn't end there.

Female gorillas are half the size of males. Kolo became the largest slave gorilla.

On December 22, 1956, the gorilla Kolo was born. Immediately, life presented a lot of trials: the first few weeks the cub was in an incubator, and at the age of 6, the monkey fell ill with tuberculosis.

Adult life, bearing offspring and difficult childbirth - this and much more was extremely difficult for the female to endure. However, despite all the difficulties, Kolo became the oldest and largest gorilla in the world (100 kg and 168 cm), which lived in captivity for exactly 60 years.

The gorilla died in her sleep, shortly before her death, an operation was performed to eliminate a malignant tumor. Colo died on January 17, 2017, giving the primacy to another primate.

#3 Giant from the past

The giant gorilla is the largest gorilla on the planet. The average height of a male is 180 cm, and in some cases the weight can reach 200 kg. Cases that would help to fix larger representatives are isolated. For example, the most common story is the report of Professor Igor Akimushkin, who described in detail the largest male gorilla in the book. It is assumed that the height of the killed animal at the beginning of the 20th century is 2.3 m.

According to bold calculations, the weight of the whopper can be more than 250 kg. The arm span with this physique is 2.5 meters. The muscle of the primate is highly developed. For example, the volume of the muscle on the arm in an adult reaches 60 cm.

Evidence and certified documentary data about such a monkey was not provided. But until that moment it was believed that the largest monkey can live exclusively in Western countries. It is known that the eastern representatives of the hominin family are the largest.

No. 4 Gigantopithecus: the largest representative of the monkeys in history

An anthropoid giant ape, over 3 meters tall. The weight of the giant could be more than 500 kg. Today, the gorilla species is considered extinct for no exact reason. The first remains were accidentally discovered in India in 1935.

Gigantopithecus lived on the planet about a million years ago. Approximate habitat - China, India and Thailand. This is confirmed by the beliefs of local residents about Etti (Bigfoot). Despite their impressive size, the monkeys ate only plant foods.

Since the plants did not have enough of the necessary minerals and nutrients, the Gigantopithecus compensated for the quality of food with its quantity. For an adult, more than 25 kg of vegetation, insects and beetles were expected per day.

The extinction of the Gigantopithecus and its causes are not known. An assumption is made about the influence of climatic conditions, as well as the specificity of the nutrition of gorillas: during the period of climate change, food was not enough, so smaller animal species survived that managed to adapt to new living conditions.

No. 5 Representative of Virunga Park

The gorilla is a free animal that, despite its impressive size, is on the verge of extinction. Climate features and the destruction of the species for selfish purposes are the main causes of extinction. Ensuring a natural and safe environment for life is the number one task for a person.

The Virunga National Park of the Congo is located at the mouth of the Congo River, near the Virunga mountain range. This is the national pride of Africa. The park is considered the best place for the breeding of the gorilla population, because it is here that they are in their natural environment. The history of the creation and development of the park is fraught with risks, conflicts and military confrontations.

It cannot be said that the history of the confrontation between the poacher and nature is over: until now, animals that live under national protection are hunted.

Mountain gorillas live in the park in their natural environment, breed and are still attacked by poachers. The Republic of the Congo attracts thanks to its beauties and wild forests, in which monkeys have bred since ancient times. Mountain gorillas here reach a height of 185-190 cm, and the weight of a male is 250-280 kg. Since males are extremely negative about the approach of potential enemies, they perceive a person extremely aggressively. It will not work to get closer than 4-5 meters to the flock. That is why it is impossible to accurately determine the height and weight of each representative. However, it is known for sure that it is here that the largest gorillas in the world live, which give hope for the further development of the population.

Gorillas are the most similar to humans. There are many examples in the world when a monkey repeated the way of folding figures after a person, solved objects by colors, and even solved complex problems. However, despite its impressive size, the gorilla is on the verge of extinction. A huge animal needs help and protection, tenderness and attention from a weaker but smarter Homo Sapiens. Only in this case can we talk about the continuation of the friendship between man and monkey.

Ecology

Main:

Gorillas mainly eat plant foods. The male reaches a height of about 1.8 meters and can weigh 220 kilograms depending on the subspecies, the females are slightly smaller - a maximum of 1.5 meters in height and weigh up to 98 kilograms. Gorillas live from 35 to 50 years.

Like humans, gorillas have 10 fingers and 10 toes, and 32 teeth. Gorillas have a characteristic body shape, and their belly is wider than their chest. This is due to the fact that they have a large digestive system, which is necessary to digest large amounts of fibrous plant foods.

Due to the fact that the food that gorillas eat is poor in nutrients, they have to eat about 18 kilograms of food daily. In order to get their own food, gorillas have developed strong muscles in their arms: they are 6 times stronger than a person.

Although gorillas can walk on their hind legs, they usually still prefer to walk on all fours. They do not have any obvious language, but they can make 22 different sounds that they use to communicate with each other.

Almost a third of the day gorillas spend on food, another third - in search of food and play, and the rest of the time they sleep or rest.

Gorillas live in small groups known as packs. A typical pack of gorillas includes one dominant male, one immature male, 3-4 adult females, and 3-6 cubs under 8 years of age. Although gorillas generally communicate quite peacefully, sometimes conflicts can arise within the pack.

A female gorilla can give birth starting at the age of 8 years. She must leave her native flock and find a new one, or cling to a lonely male, with whom she will live next to.

The enemies of gorillas in the wild are leopards and crocodiles.

Where do they live?

Gorillas live in the rainforests of Africa. The western lowland gorilla lives in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Congo and Equatorial Guinea. The eastern lowland gorilla lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The mountain gorilla can be found in the Virunga mountains, high latitude rainforests in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Conservation status: Endangered

The Western river gorilla is the rarest great ape on the planet, with about 300 left in the wild. Among the gorillas, the western lowland gorilla is the most numerous, according to data Smithsonian National Zoo, in the wild there are about 175 thousand individuals.

Eight African countries have adopted laws that protect gorillas. The main problem for these animals is deforestation and habitat fragmentation, poaching, civil wars and constant disturbance, as well as diseases that are transmitted from humans.

Gorillas are the largest primates on the planet.

Gorilla DNA is 98 percent identical to human DNA, making gorillas one of the closest relatives of modern humans, including baboons and chimpanzees.

Newborn gorillas grow very quickly and are able to move independently at the age of 6 months. By 18 months, they can already follow their mother, taking small walks.

Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)- the largest monkey of the family of anthropoid detachment of primates (Primates).

The height of adult males is up to 175 cm and more, the arm span is up to 260 cm, the chest girth is up to 152 cm, and they weigh 135-180 kg (up to 300 kg in captivity).

Females are much smaller (weigh 75-110 kg, in captivity up to 126).

The hair is black, on the crown it is chestnut in color, on the back it becomes gray with age. The head is large, the eyebrows protrude strongly, the body is massive, the upper limbs are longer than the lower ones.

Similarities in the structure of the body with a person are partly explained by the terrestrial way of life. The volume of the brain box is 500-600 cubic meters. cm (up to 752 cc), the brain is similar in structure to the human brain. Chromosomes - 48 (humans have 46).

Gorillas are common in Equatorial Africa. 3 subspecies: western lowland gorilla and larger eastern - mountain and lowland. They live in tropical or mountain forests.

They live in small herds (5-30 individuals), led by mighty males. On the ground they move on four limbs. Sometimes they climb trees. Vegetable food - fruits, berries, nuts.

At night they build nests on the ground or in trees. The gestation period is from 250 to 290 days: a newborn weighs about 2 kg. Life expectancy in the wild is 25-30 years. As a result of hunting, they are heavily exterminated; are under protection. Captivity is poorly tolerated, rarely breeds.

In Uganda, a French-Ugandan team of researchers discovered the remains of a large prehistoric monkey. Found fragments, including a significant number of teeth and a piece of skin, allow us to conclude with certainty that the monkey belongs to a species unknown so far.

Judging by the remains, the monkey must have reached the size of a female gorilla, that is, it was larger than all fossil monkeys known to science. According to a specialist from the French Museum of Natural History, the excavations suggest that "during this period of the Miocene, there were significant numbers of monkeys in Africa, which promises further finds." The fossil, found in an area called Napak, was given the name Ugandapithecus major.

“Intelligent” gorilla puzzled primatologists

A young female gorilla of two and a half years would have lived in complete obscurity in one of the small reserves in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), if by chance the park staff had not caught her doing a curious activity: a monkey was chopping nuts laid out on another stone with a stone oil palm to feast on the pulp.

For scientists studying the behavior of gorillas, it became a worldwide sensation. The fact is that the use of the “hammer and anvil” method is considered one of the most difficult techniques for obtaining food by great apes, and such behavior has never been recorded among gorillas before.

The “dossier” of the quick-witted gorilla was immediately studied, which received its own name, Itebero (after the name of the area where it was first discovered, having been taken away from poachers).

It was found that no tricks were taught to the monkey. But until now, in primatology, it was believed that the only ones capable of mastering the “hammer and anvil” technique from the whole family of pongids - great apes - are chimpanzees.

Moreover, for this they need not even months, but years of sessions of copying human actions with constant contact with the trainer.

Itebero in the tropical forests of Eastern Congo, no one taught this.

It follows, said Gottfried Hohmann, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, that gorillas are smarter than hitherto thought.

Reports of an "intellectual" gorilla evoked a response from scientists studying these animals in a neighboring country, the Republic of the Congo.

American primatologist Thomas Breuer, who has been conducting observations in the Nuabale-Ndoki National Park for more than a decade, said that in all this time he had only watched his “wards” use improvised means to solve problems.

One time, a gorilla used a log as a floating bridge to get to the other side of a river. Another time, with the help of a stick, she tried to find out the depth of the pond.