Discover the World’s Largest Gorilla

Gorillas are both beautiful and enormous. These amazing creatures are very closely related to humans and demonstrate a high degree of cognition and sociability. Gorillas represent the ultimate combination of brain and brawn. Continue reading to learn more about these incredible apes and discover the world’s largest gorilla.

Gorilla Species and Subspecies

Gorillas are primates that are closely related to humans, diverging from a common ancestor around 7 million years ago. The genus Gorilla includes two species and four subspecies. The Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) species includes the Western lowland gorilla (G. g. gorilla) and the Cross River gorilla (G. g. diehli). The Eastern gorilla (G. beringei) species includes the mountain gorilla (G. b. beringei) and the Eastern lowland gorilla (G. b. graueri). Genetic evidence suggests that the Western and Eastern gorilla species diverged around 261,000 years ago.

How Large Are Most Gorillas?

The largest gorilla subspecies is the Eastern lowland gorilla. A wild male Eastern lowland gorilla typically weighs between 450-550 pounds, making them the world’s largest living gorillas. The other Eastern gorilla subspecies, the mountain gorilla, typically averages around 358 pounds. Cross River gorillas weigh from 309-441 pounds, and Western Lowland gorillas weigh between 300-400 pounds. However, gorillas of all subspecies weigh substantially more in captivity.

Gorillas Are the Largest Primates

Gorillas are the largest of the five types of great apes, which also include orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. Male orangutans are the next heaviest great ape, with some fully grown adult orangutans weighing up to 300 pounds. Humans are the next heaviest, with the average U.S. male weighing 199 pounds. Male chimpanzees have an average weight between 88-132 pounds and bonobos average around 86 pounds.

The Largest Gorillas On Record

As noted above, gorillas, like most animals, weigh substantially more when raised in captivity than those that live in the wild. The largest gorilla with a verifiable record was said to be 683 pounds at his largest. The 1988 Guinness Book of World Records lists the heaviest gorilla ever kept in captivity as a mountain gorilla named N’Gagi. N’Gagi lived at the San Diego Zoo from 1931 until his death in 1944. Reports state that he weighed 636 pounds at the time of his death.

The heaviest wild gorilla is believed to be a male silverback that was hunted in Cameroon. This large gorilla was reported to measure 6 feet tall and weigh 589 pounds. The tallest wild gorilla ever recorded was 6 feet and 5 inches. This animal was killed in the Congo in 1938.

Gorilla Conservation Status

Today, all gorilla species and subspecies face grave threats to their survival. They face threats including habitat loss, hunting, human encroachment, disease, civil unrest, and climate change. Both Western gorillas and Eastern gorillas are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List.