Grizzly Bear vs Western Gorilla If a gorilla and a grizzly bear were to fight to the death, which one would win? Let's compare these two animals! Gorillas are large apes that are native to Africa. They are typically divided into two groups. The mountain gorilla lives in the mountainous regions of central Africa, while the lowland gorilla lives in the flat, dense forests of central and western Africa. The Grizzly bear is subspecies of the brown bear. These huge animals originate from Europe and Asia, but today they can be found only in North America and Canada. SIZE AND DESCRIPTION The western gorilla is the species with more individuals in the wild. There are two subspecies: the western lowland gorilla and the Cross River gorilla. This species has large, burly individuals. The average male height is 1.55 meters, and females are on average 1.35 meters. Their weight is on average 80 kilos in females and 157 kg in males, estimation based on captive individuals. Their muzzle is short, with strong muscles in the jaw area. A dark fur covers most of their body. Individuals of the species Gorilla gorilla show a clearer tone than their eastern relatives who can show brown or even slightly reddish coat. On the other hand most adult female grizzlies weigh 130–180 kg, while adult males weigh on average 180–360 kg. Average total length in this subspecies is 198 cm. Grizzly bears have concave faces, a distinctive hump on their shoulders, and long claws about two to four inches long. Both the hump and the claws are traits associated with a grizzly bear’s exceptional digging ability. Grizzlies are often dark brown, but can vary from very light cream to black. The long guard hairs on their backs and shoulders frequently have white tips and give the bears a "grizzled" appearance, hence the name "grizzly." HABITAT & RANGE A few years ago, the western gorilla distribution was almost in an uninterrupted territory, but at present, there are small and isolated populations, and they have become extinct in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This species still resides in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, and Gabon. The western lowland gorilla lives in areas of Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic. It inhabits south of the Sanaga River, the estuary of the Congo River continuing east until the Oubangi River. The Cross River gorilla has a limited distribution, as it only inhabits a small area between Nigeria and Cameroon. They dwell mainly lowland tropical forests, swamp forests, and primary and secondary forests. Grizzly bears are found many different habitats, from dense forests to subalpine meadows, open plains and arctic tundra. In North America, grizzly bears are found in western Canada, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and a potentially a small population in Washington. Historically, they could be found from Alaska to Mexico and from California to Ohio. DIET Every day these gorillas travel between 1 and 4 kilometers to find fruit trees. Gorillas are mainly herbivores. Western gorillas feed on leaves, buds, and especially fruit. The availability of these varies throughout the year, so its consumption may also change. Occasionally they catch ants, termites, worms, grubs, and caterpillars. When the fruit is scarce, they are forced to eat leaves, woody vegetation, bark and low-quality herbs. Grizzly bears are omnivores, and their diet can vary widely. They may eat seeds, berries, roots, grasses, fungi, deer, elk, fish, dead animals and insects. In the late summer and early fall, grizzlies enter hyperphagia, a period of 2-4 months when they intensify their calorie intake to put on weight for winter denning. During this time period they can gain more than three pounds a day! REPRODUCTION It is a polygamous species, like all gorillas. Females can start having offspring when they are 8 or 9 years old, although the average sexual maturity age is ten years. The dominant male or leader is the only one that can mate with the females of their group, and this can happen during any time of the year since there is no specific breeding season. The gestation period is about 8.5 months, and usually, only one infant is born weighing roughly 2 kg. Mothers nurse their young for 3 or 4 years, and they transport and take care of them. The males hardly interact with the infants. Many babies die; if the female delivers twins she allows one to die because it is hard to take care and transport both. Their life expectancy in the wild is up to 40 years. Grizzly bears are one of the slowest reproducing land mammals. Females do not typically reproduce until they are four or five years old. Grizzly bears mate between May and July, but the female’s body delays implantation of their eggs in the uterus until October or November. Mother bears rear cubs for two to three years. Males do not help raise the cubs. In fact, males can be a danger to the cubs, so females often avoid male grizzly bears while rearing their cubs. BEHAVIOR The western gorilla lives in groups of 2-20 individuals, with a leader, which is a “silverback” male with the responsibility to defend the females in the group and their offspring. Their life is peaceful, with few aggressive incidents. In the case of danger, the silverback male makes a threatening display for intimidating the intruder; therefore he stands on two legs, makes loud vocalizations and beats his chest with both hands. They are diurnal and relatively sedentary because they do not perform migrations although they travel together for months and years in search of food. Therefore, they are not territorial. Grizzly bears are normally solitary animals. However, they are not very territorial and they may be seen feeding together where food is abundant, such as at salmon streams and whitebark pine sites. Females will rear their cubs for 2-3 years. When a female grizzly bear leaves her mother, they often set up their home range quite close to their mother’s home range. Males will typically range further, but may also remain close by. Grizzly bears need to eat a lot in the summer and fall in order to build up sufficient fat reserves to survive the winter denning period. The duel between Grizzly Bear vs Gorilla Western Gorillas and Grizzly bears live in totally different geographical and climatic conditions. That however doesn’t mean that they cannot engage in a vigorous fight. If they were ever brought to the same battle field, they will put up a strong fight that may be fatal to one of them. The Grizzly bear is a strong animal that is known to kill even humans. It has strong canine teeth that tear their prey’s flesh. Western gorillas on the other hand are very flexible, fast and can climb up a tree within seconds. This means a gorilla can strategically place itself in a position that gives it an advantage during the fight. The western gorilla will be able to rely on its speed and flexibility to strike and hit the bear from any direction. The bear on the other hand is so strong that it can easily crash the gorilla if it captures it. A war between the two will be a fierce one that includes ‘cat and mouse’ chases. Western Gorillas are also more intelligent than Grizzly bears. This means they can easily monitor the bears and know when, how and where to strike. It is hard to predict the outcome of a duel between these two animals. Each one of them has equal chances of winning the match. The loser will most likely come out dead.
