Gorillas vs Chimpanzees

Gorillas are land animals, most of the largest forest apes that live in tropical rainforests in central Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: eastern gorillas and western gorillas, and four or five subspecies. The Gorilla is the largest living primate. Gorilla DNA is very similar to humans, from 95 to 99% depending on the content, and they are the closest human family after Chimpanzees and Bonobos.

With the word Chimpanzees, I remember that both Chimpanzees and gorillas are mostly considered to be the same. But are they the same? Well, we will discuss it later in this blog.
First, I want to let you know the facts about Gorillas and Chimpanzees that will amaze you. Also, these facts will bring some light on whether they are both the same or different?

FACTS ABOUT GORILLAS

Scientists have shown that gorillas live in complex social groups, showing a unique personality, look, and expressing feelings of sadness and empathy. We shouldn’t be surprised though - Gorillas are some of our closest relatives and they share 95% of their DNA with humans.

Like Human DNA - Gorillas are one of the closest living relatives having 95% to 99% of human DNA.

Carry their Weight - Gorillas walk in squares (all fours) and use knuckles to lift their heads and wounds.

Expression - The gorilla has been observed to express feelings of sadness and compassion in other primates, including humans.

Maturity - Gorillas live in stable social groups consisting of one adult male often referred to as silverback (because the silver hair on the back indicates complete maturity) and many women with infants and children. When young men are 8-11 years old, they often migrate and join other groups or form new groups.

Diet - Mainly gorillas are herbivorous, with most of their diet consisting of leaves, shoots, and stems, few fruits, and prey of small animals such as caterpillars, larvae, snails, larvae, and ants. The diet of Western gorillas in the Western Hemisphere has more fruit diet.

Female Gorillas - Females who start giving birth are about 10 years old and will give birth every three to four years. 

Gestation Age - Gorillas have a gestational age of nine months as humans, but babies usually weigh less than 4 kg, and their growth is twice as fast as ours.

Use of Tools - The gorilla when found for the first time was using a simple tool. In 2005 forestry work, they were observed using sticks to test the depth of the muddy water and to cross wetlands.

Means of Communication - Although gorillas are silent, they have several complex voices that are used to disseminate information in a variety of contexts, including teaching life skills to young people, searching for food, and visiting. They may also be able to learn basic human language.

FACTS ABOUT CHIMPANZEE

Chimpanzees are beautiful monkeys and members of the Hominidae family, which also includes humans.

Like us, Chimpanzees laugh together, form teams, and use tools to accomplish goals. The natives lived for up to 50 years in the wild and up to 60 years in captivity. A child keeps a good relationship with their mother and maintains that relationship throughout their lives. These monkeys sit on treetops and walk on all fours. They keep their nests clean and show most of the human traits. 

Like Human DNA - Chimpanzees share 98.4% of their DNA with humans.

Appearance - Chimpanzees are black, but older ones may have a gray background. All species often have short white beards. The ears are noticeable. Babies have a white tail straw and pink to brownface skin, which darkens as an adult.

Living Style - Chimpanzees live in fluid social groups consisting of a core of multiple females and dominant related males, who are highly territorial and routinely patrol the boundaries of their homes. Women usually live lonelier than men, often deciding to spend most of their time alone with their offspring.

Dependent - Chimpanzees are completely dependent on their mothers for about five years. Males between the ages of 8-12 or older will increase their independence and spend more time with older men. Women tend to stay close to their mothers during adolescence, they grow up at the age of 11, but they begin to multiply at the age of 13-14. On average, women will have about three generations in their lives.

Lifestyle - Chimpanzees travel mostly on land, but during the day they will feed mainly on trees and every night they will make a new nest at the top of the forest to sleep.

Means of Communication - Chimpanzees have many different voices, from growls and slip smacks to anguish and scream. One of the most notable voices is pant healing, which is used in situations where social anxiety increases. Chimpanzees are also able to learn basic sign language.

Use of Tools - Chimpanzees have opposite toes and thumbs that allow them to grab, climb and twist objects. Chimpanzees are very dexterous and can manipulate objects in their environment to create fashion and use tools. These materials are often used to obtain food sources. The sticks are used to catch grass and cover ants, sponges with leaves to irrigate, and in West Africa, Chimpanzees use specially selected stones to break hard nuts, which can take years to perfect. Recently, a Chimpanzee was seen playing with a stick when humans were playing with a doll.

Diet - Their diet varies from season to season, mostly with fruits (50-75%), but also with leaves (12-45%), flowers (1-18%), seeds (1-11%), and hunting accompanied by animals (1-5%) brushes, termites, ants, snails, birds, and mammals, including wild boars, duikers, rats, and other animals.

To know more about Chimpanzee . Read this blog.

COMPARISON BETWEEN GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES

Though you must have seen that Gorillas and Chimpanzees are mostly the same to each other according to their behavior, habitat, and living. Both are related to 90% of human DNA. But still, there is a wide difference between the two. Here we are: 

Appearance - Gorillas are larger than Chimpanzees. Gorillas have more pronounced arms, muscles, and chest.

Intelligence Skills - Though Chimpanzees are smaller in size, still they are way more intelligent and smarter than Gorillas. 

Strength - Due to strong muscles and larger size, one gorilla can carry heavy things alone and if they once get into the fight, they can cause serious injury to their enemies, even can kill them. On the other hand, Chimpanzees are troublesome animals, and they stop the fight after killing their enemy only.

Food - Though both are herbivores, Chimpanzees sometimes eat small animals and are thus considered to be omnivores.
 
Habitat - Gorillas tend to live on higher altitudes in the forests whereas Chimpanzees live at a lower altitude. Thus, the chances of facing Chimpanzees are higher while tracking.