Gorillas VS Orangutans – Who Would win in a fight to death?
The Silverback Gorilla is considered the largest gorilla in the world. Gorillas have broad shoulders, chests, large hands, similar to humans, and hairless faces that resemble the human face. They are very impressive animals in the wild.
The mature silverback gorilla in a troop is the leader and responsible for the safety and well-being of the other gorillas. A troop (or group) consists of 5 to 30 gorillas. The head gorilla is responsible for leading his troop to food, where they will rest, and where they will sleep.
In zoo environments, primatologists and zookeepers know these mammals can become aggressive if they feel threatened. A major warning sign would be pounding their chests.
Their name came from the distinguished markings on their backs that resemble a silver saddle.
Orangutans are a group of apes made up of gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos and are the only apes in Asia. They are considered the world’s largest arboreal mammals which means they live in trees.
They are large-bodied apes with thin, long shaggy hair that ranges from dark brown to reddish-orange. They have very long flexible arms in order to live in trees.
Orangutans have been placed on the endangered list due to the loss of their habitats in Borneo and Sumatra caused by palm oil plantations. In Asia, they are extinct. Borneo and Sumatra are located in Indonesia on the Greater Sunda Islands in the Malay Archipelago.
Size & Body Description
Silverbacks can stand straight up reaching 5.5 to 6-feet tall while the females are no taller than 5-feet (1.5 meters) and weigh around 200 lbs ((90kg).
The males have large crests on the top of their skulls and backs to help support their jaw muscles and teeth. The bony crest on their heads resembles a cone. While the females have the same shape to their crest, just not as distinctive.
Silverbacks have long, thick hair, more than any other gorilla species, which gives them excellent insulation from high elevations.
Gorillas form their distinctive marking when they are around 12-years old. Younger males are called blackbacks.
Orangutans’ faces are hairless and their arms are longer than their bowed legs. Their hands are very similar to the hands of a human. Their long arms, fingers, and toes come in very handy for swinging on branches.
The orangutan’s arms are approximately 1.5 times longer than their legs. They have very strong arm muscles for swinging from one tree to another while supporting their weight. When stretched out, their arms can reach 7-feet.
Orangutans have large half-circled flanges or cheek pads running along the side of their faces. Younger males will eventually develop flanges but no one seems to know when or why.
As for height, the females are approximately 3.75 feet (1.2m) tall and the males are around 4.5 feet (1.36m).
Females weigh around 81.5 lbs (37 kg) and males 191 (87kg)
The Habitats They Live In
Gorillas, in general, live in tropical rain forests. Rainfall can vary a lot in the tropics which dictates the variety of vegetation that grows in a given area. Gorillas live in the western lowlands of Central Africa, Gabon, Cameroon, the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea in Western Africa.
In the eastern lowlands, gorillas live in the tropical forest of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mountain gorillas live in high altitudes of 1,650 to 3,790 or 5,413 to 12,435 feet in the tropical forests of Rwanda, Uganda, Zaire, near the Virunga volcanoes.
Orangutans are found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.
Once upon a time, Orangutans were spread everywhere through the mainland of Asia during the Ice Age.
Orangutans live in habitats along waterways and lowlands due to their dependence on fruits.
Biologists describe their habitats as inaccessible, leech-laden, swamp-logged tropical forests.
The islands of Borneo and Sumatra are abundant with mountain ranges and Orangutans prefer elevations that do not go beyond 500 meters (1640.42 feet).
Due to large predators like tigers and leopards that roam the forest floor, Orangutans remain arboreal, living in the trees of Sumatra
Borneo has fewer large predators so the males can travel and feed on the ground. The females will remain in the trees due to their smaller size.
The Diets Of Gorillas & Orangutans
A gorilla’s diet is very similar to chimpanzees, the big difference, gorillas prefer larger fruits, mature leaves, and stems. Their diets include around 97 plants species along with invertebrates such as termites and ants. Adult males will consume around 60 to 70 pounds (25 – 30kg) of food each day. Females consume approximately two-thirds of that amount of food.
Orangutans will spend at least half their day foraging for food. They are mostly frugivores, meaning they prefer eating forest fruits when it’s available. When the forest’s season is low on fruits, they will turn to leaves, bark, tissues in stems, and insects.
Orangutans are famous for eating 400 different plant species! This can possibly explain why orangutans have developed great intelligence because of their incredible memory and familiarization of maps in the forest and know where certain trees that bear fruit are located during the year in their habitats.
Behaviors Of Gorillas & Orangutans
Many zoologists know that even due to their amazing size and strength, mountain gorillas are very gentle and in many cases very shy.
They are social animals but only within their own troops. They show each other affection by often playing and hugging very much as humans do. They also laugh and will throw things if they are angry.
While they are peaceful animals, younger males from other troops will often challenge the silverback.
To drive off other gorillas, the silverback will beat his chest, scream and bare his teeth, and even charge the intruder.
Orangutans, by nature, are placid and deliberate. When in captivity, they are incredibly ingenious and persistent when manipulating mechanical objects. They have shown cognitive abilities including logical reasoning, recognizing themselves in mirrors, being good at deception, communicating using symbols, having incredible foresight, and can create tools and use them.
Adult males are usually solitary and only engage in threatening gestures when meeting other males.
They share with females but only for reproductive reasons. Although it’s unusual for primates, orangutans prefer to live alone.
In Battle, Who Would Win – The Gorilla Or The Orangutan?
First and foremost, both gorillas and orangutans are many times stronger than the human.
Both are from the great ape family and live in completely different parts of the world. They would never cross each other’s paths. Therefore, there is no answer who would win a battle.
Orangutans are solitary animals and only use their long arms to get around. They normally do not fight and do not have the large fangs and enormously strong jaws of the gorilla. Their bodies are built for ground movements and prefer to avoid other animals vs fighting.
They lead in the climbing skills not in fighting other animals.
Gorillas are social animals and gain dominance through non-lethal force. Many people think of gorillas as the sports heroes of the animal world. They understand physical contact but do not cause any form of lasting harm.
There is no doubt, their bodies are perfectly proportioned for ground movements and fighting. They definitely have an advantage, due to size, over the orangutan.
So simply put Gorillas have the edge over Orangutans and will most probably win.