Biggest Silverback Ever Recorded?

Ok not mythical as such, but the killings of this family of mountain Gorillas sort of got me interested in them, after i realised how huge the silverback was next to a group of men.

So my question to you lot is ... What is the largest Silverback every caught on record?

I've searched google etc and just cannot come up with any straight answers.

Grazi (even though i'm not Italian)

Just to be technical a "silverback gorilla" is not really a species of gorilla, but rather refers to the adult male with grey hair on his back. There are 2 species - the Western and Eastern gorillas, and both species have silverback males.

The larger of the two is the Eastern Gorilla. The maximum size of a male gorilla can be over 225 kg (500 lb) and 1.83 m (6 ft) in the wild, with much heavier weights recorded in captivity. (Although I can't find a decent reference to the recorded sizes either.)

The heaviest gorilla in captivity was a male of the mountain race names 'N' gagi, who died in San Diego Zoo, California, USA on 12 January 1944 at the age of 18. He weighed 310 kg 638 lb at his heaviest 1943. He was 1.72 m 5ft 7> in tall and boasted a record chest measurement of 198 cm 78 in.

UK Britain's largest captive gorilla is probably 'Djoum' of Howletts Zoo, Kent, whose weight is stable at 213 kg 470 lb. Another male example of the western lowland gorilla named 'Bukhama' at Dudley Zoo, W Mids was reportedly 227 kg 500 lb in 1969.

Source

Then there's also the fabled Gargantua, a circus gorilla with a claim to fame. He was called the largest and fiercest gorilla ever to be brought into human civilization, although this was probably just advertising hype. There are no trustworthy records of how big Gargantua actually was.

But if you want to talk really big primates, you should take a look at mister Gigantopithecus. At 3 m (10 ft) tall and weighing 300 to 550 kg (700 to 1,200 lb) was something you wouldn't have called a monkey to its face!

All that said, I can't find a reference to the biggest wild gorilla captured either, but if they say "the maximum size of a male gorilla can be over 225 kg (500 lb) and 1.83 m (6 ft) in the wild", then that'll probably be your record.

I know that the Silverback is a male gorilla, i just worded it wrong lol, thanks for the help that's great that Gigantopithecus is one big bad ape

Wow, Gigantopithecus was huge overe 1000 pounds thats bigger than many bears get. Just the same, at 500 pounds I definetely wouldn't want to anger a silverback.

i am doig a research paper on mountin gorillas and i would love to have any pictures or facts about the largest gorilla ever captured.

Many believe that Bigfoot is in fact a relative of Gigantopithecus. This would certainly explain a lot and if more people were familiar with Gigantopithecus so too would they be more inclined to accept the possibility of of Bigfoot.

Got this from Google: Kodiak Bears



The Kodiak Bear is a subspecies of the brown bear, and is unique in that they can only be found on the Kodiak Archipelago, a group of islands south of Alaska. There are approximately 3000 Kodiak Bears currently in existence, and they have been isolated from other bears for over 12,000 years. Males are called boars, females are called sows, and youngsters are cubs. Their average lifespan is around 20 years.

Kodiak Bears are among the largest in the world, and can grow up to 10.5 feet long and weigh around 900 lbs or more. They have a fluffy brown coat to stay warm, and large claws and teeth to catch fish. They also have a shoulder hump, which is actually a mass of muscle, enabling them to dig and use their paws to strike. The largest known Kodiak Bear in captivity was named Clyde, and lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. Clyde died at the age of 22 in 1987, and at one point weighed 2400 lbs.

Kodiak Bears are generally solitary in nature, but are often found in large groups near feeding areas, and return to the same fishing spot every summer for the salmon run. They have developed their own language and social structure. The bears are generally active during the day, and eat a lot of grass, plants and berries, in addition to fish. A bear can eat up to 90 lbs of food in a day, especially when preparing for hibernation. These bears have one of the keenest sense of smells in nature. Mating season is during May and June, and cubs are born in January or February. Male bears are monogamous, and a typical litter size is generally 2-3 cubs. Nearly half of all cubs die before they are a year old, due to disease, starvation or predators. Kodiak Bears become sexually mature around 5 years of age, and can continue to produce cubs for the rest of their lives. They enter dens in late October, and emerge in April. While hibernating, their temperature decreases only slightly, but their respiration and heart rate decrease dramatically.

Traditionally, Kodiak natives hunted bears for food, clothing and tools. Bear heads were often left in the field as a sign of respect for the bears. Concern about reduced bear populations led to the creation of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in 1941. Hunting is currently controlled under strict regulations. Only one person has been killed by a Kodiak Bear in the last 75 years.


Some Bears do get bigger thn Gorillas.

Zindo

Here's some interesting facts about gorillas that I found While Googling:

• Gorillas possess 98% of the same nuclear DNA as humans
  
• There's a greater degree of difference between gorilla & chimp DNA in contrast to gorilla & human DNA
  
• Gorillas are the biggest primate (note humans are primates)
  
• Gorillas, chimpanzees and humans are classified under the same family--Hominidae
  
• Gorillas and chimps used to be classified under the family Pongidae--Now only the orangutan remains in the Pongidae family
  
• There're two species of gorilla: Western Gorilla and Eastern Gorilla
  
• The largest subspecies of gorilla is the Grauer's gorilla (eastern lowland gorilla)
  
• A group of gorillas is called a troop
  
• A silverback gorilla is so-called because of the greyish/silver patch he gains on his back when he attains maturity
  
• Eastern gorillas tend to have blacker hair than their Western counterparts who tend to be browner
  
• Gorillas have hair not fur
  
• Mountain gorillas have longer hair, larger jaws and teeth, smaller noses and shorter arms than other gorillas
  
• Gorilla arms are longer than their legs and in the western gorilla, the male's arm span extends 7-9 feet A greater length than the gorilla is tall
  
• Not a single one of the gorillas in zoos around the world is a mountain gorilla--they are all lowland (western) gorillas
  

For the whole list click on the hyperlink below.

Complete List



[edit on 5/14/08 by LLoyd45]

reply to post by LLoyd45


Just to let you know, that 2% difference between gorillas and humans is a vast chasm. I'd have to check but I believe worms have around 75% DNA in common with humans.

Just an observation.

Cincinnati Zoo had a lowland Silverback named Colossus, He was 40 years old when he died during a routine root canal surgery.

At the time of his death he was 6 feet tall and weighed 500lbs. Just going to the zoo and seeing this big guy was awesome, he towered over the other gorilla's and the knew he was the man of the house.




Guess which one he is..

More about Colossus here.

reply to post by Gemwolf


Has anyone seen the webpages about these "greys" repoted by navy seals at sometime. Some forn of ape they saw. Just wondering, seen a few webpages, didn't know what to think or make of it.

The largest gorilla I have ever seen was Samson of the Milwaukee County zoo which reportedly reached over 650 lbs. www.zoosociety.org...

To the OP and all the other contributors...thanks for all of the info! I had no idea that Gorilla's were that big, let alone in the ballpark of Gigantopithecus. I wonder if Gigantopithecus was still around during the turn of the 20th century...could it be where the whole King Kong idea came from?