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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days)  Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
Often when you browse the net for information about Gorillas or check books about them, you will find differing ideas on how strong they are. I's probably true that there has been no study undertaken to determine their strength, but yet different sources have different estimates. A Gorilla book that I have at home says that they are 4-8 times stronger than the average man. The "Animal face off" show said that scientist estimate that the strength of a 400 pound Silverback Gorilla is 20 times our own (I think this is a more accurate estimate). Nigel Marvin, the zoologist who starred in the "Chased by Dinosaurs" and "chased by Sea Monsters" documentaries (among many others about modern day animals) stated that they where 5 times stronger than a human. The show "The Most Extreme" on animal planet did a show about the 10 strongest animals in the world, and it stated (and illustrated using computer graphics) that if a human where as strong as a Gorilla, he or she would be able to lift 4,600 pounds above his head, about the weight of 2 cars. Though that show had errors (Tigers where placed higher in the category than Brown Bears, yet in reality Bears are pound for pound stronger than Big cats, depending on amount of body fat) the claim that Gorillas can lift well over two tons above their head was demonstrated in a children's book that I found in a Library, and it seemed to hint that Gorillas have the strength of 8 heavyweight olympic weight lifters! What I would like to talk about or debate, is how strong a Gorilla really is. Does anybody have a clue? Does anybody know some of the great feats of strength that they have ben known to do? And could they fight off an African Lion using brute force?
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
anybody? "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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| Eis_baer |
I'd say a silverback's strength is equivalent to about 0.5 of my own. *flex* This message has been edited by Eis_baer, 26-04-2006 03:13 PM <-- is not an avatar, it a mirror on your screen. ROLFCOPTER
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
I'd doubt that, Though some of the wrestlers on WWE could come close to being as stout as a Gorilla! (7 feet tall 500 pound "Big Show", 7 feet 3, 420 pound "The Great Khali", 6 feet 1, 380 pound "Mark Henry", and the late 6 foot 10, 550 pound "Andre the Giant") This message has been edited by LudoRephaim, 04-26-2006 03:40 PM "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
And of course It is also quite possible for An American or asian Blackbear of the same size as a Gorilla to be stronger than the Gorilla. Bears are after all far stronger than canines or cats. This message has been edited by LudoRephaim, 04-26-2006 07:41 PM "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
It also makes me wonder about the idea that Gorillas can lift nearly 5,000 pounds above their head. Even if they where strong enough to do so, do they have the proper body mechanics to do so? "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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RAZD Member  Posts: 11959 From: the other end of the sidewalk Registered: Member Rating: 4 |
I saw a tv news article about a party of tourists attacked by a wild chimpanzee (alpha male type) as tall as the man attacked, and they had a primatologist on that said the male chimp was likely 5 to 7 times stronger than a human. I remember this because I read this topic before seeing it ... planted a seed eh? Googled: http://www.blackpineanimalpark.com/Animals/chimps.htm That would tend to make gorillas stronger yet. By "common sense" comparison eh? It has as much to do with the geometry of the bone\muscle arrangement as with the size and muscle mass. we are limited in our ability to understand by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
Hey Razd. Thanks for the links:) "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
Im also curious as to which animal would be stronger:A 400 pound silverback Gorilla or a 400 pound American Blackbear. I love bears (One of my favorite animals) and have studied a bunch on them. They are stronger than cats weight for weight, have intelligence almost on par with prmiates, and in other ways quite facinating. I've asked an engineer and a person who claimed to be a zoologist if the Bear would be stronger than the Gorilla, and they agreed. Still, it would be quite facinating to discuss. "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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RAZD Member Posts: 11959 From: the other end of the sidewalk Registered: Member Rating: 4 |
Think of a lever with the joint as a fulcrum and the muscle (ligament) attachment point and you can see that the same muscle can supply twice the strength if the distance from the ligament to the joint is doubled. You will need some anatomy diagrams to ascertain these distances for general comparison. Raw strength would be related to the number of muscle cells in each muscle group and their individual {size\development}. There is only so much pull a muscle cell can generate without tearing it's own cell apart, so the {maximum strength per sq.cm. of cross-section area} a muscle cell can attain is probably fairly constant\similar in different animals -- but a lot of variation in muscle develoment can occur (98 lb weakling versus muscle-bound weightlifters), because muscle "building" does not add cells, just makes the existing ones bigger (see Muscle Physiology of Strength Training). A good estimate of the raw strength of a muscle group would be the cross-sectional area, as this would include both the number of cells and the relative development of each cell -- you can have more fibers or have bigger fibers and have the same strength. You will need some anatomy diagrams to ascertain these areas for general comparison. Once you have both those sets of numbers I would think that you could compare the strength of different animals with: To solve for "P" The only caveat is that the muscles measured need to be used for similar functions to compare ability in those functions (ie compare lifting muscles in both animals versus pulling down muscles in one and lifting in another). Certainly that should give you a starting point. Enjoy. {abe}: If you look at the diagram of the human arm here: Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle You can see a big difference between the joint geometries for lifting and pulling down (envisage clawing) in the human arm. I would expect that the bear joint would show a greater separation of the ligament from the joint fulcrum for the tricept muscles in the bears than in the gorilla. {/abe} This message has been edited by RAZD, 05*01*2006 06:40 PM we are limited in our ability to understand by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
It will be hard to find such info (comparative gorilla and Bear Anatomy) let alone use the higher math (I dont do well with math :( ) But i'll see what I can come up with at a later time. Thanks once again for the info :D "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
"The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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LudoRephaim Member (Idle past 90 days) Posts: 651 From: Jareth's labyrinth Registered: |
Here is a website that discusses Bears, including the fact that they are stronger than other carnivores (though sadly does not compare their power to a Gorilla :( ) http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572258/Bear.html you'll have to go through some pages of the same article to get the info. This site seems to show that Bears are stronger than any animal of the same mass (Gorillas are about the same size as some bears) http://www.bowhunting.net/bearhunting.net/bear2.html "The Nephilim where in the Earth in those days..." Genesis 6:4
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| bcw3 |
sure bears are stronger than cats, but the fact of the matter is that at equal weights a cat will own a bear also an african lion will destroy a gorrilla. Leopards kill gorrillas so if a leopard can kill a gorrillz then a male lion will destroy a gorrilla
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| bcw3 |
sure grizzlies are much stronger than all big cats, but a lion and tiger will be almost as strong at equal weights as a black bear
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