Differences between mountain gorillas and chimpanzees: Many tourists travel to the stunning continent of East Africa to see the two amazing primates, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, which are found in places like Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they coexist in their natural and beautiful habitats. Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are frequently carefully observed during gorilla trekking safari and chimpanzee trekking safari because these animals frequently confuse tourists and make it difficult for them to distinguish between the two.
The differences between these primate species are highlighted in this article, and you can see them for yourself after going on a safari in Uganda, Rwanda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to the fact that both of them carry roughly beyond 90% of the DNA of humans, they are comparable to humans in that they are capable of doing many of the same things as humans. This results in these primates having traits in common with one another rather than being distinct from one another, despite the fact that these primates do have differences. Given that these variations include the following,
Physical appearance.
When you compare chimpanzees to mountain gorillas, the mountain gorillas are physically two to three times larger. The arms, chests, and muscles of mountain gorillas are more pronounced than those of chimpanzees, whose arms and chests are also less apparent. The chimpanzees have large ears that can be seen sticking out from their heads, while the gorillas have little ears on the back of their heads.
Strength.
One mountain gorilla can bear a lot of weight on its own, and if it decides to fight humans or other gorillas that are an enemy of them, it may result in serious injuries or even death. This makes mountain gorillas to be one of the strongest animal species. Chimpanzees are not strong enough to deal with enormous forces or fight off enemies, as they mostly rely on their wits for these tasks. Even while it’s considered that gorillas are calm creatures who rarely start fights, chimpanzees are the violet species and can quickly start problems since they can band together against their enemies until they are killed.
Intelligent levels.
Despite the fact that chimpanzees are smaller than mountain gorillas, they have sharper, larger brains than gorillas, making them to be the most intelligent compared to the gorilla species. And the chimpanzees will primarily be referred to as the trick and cannibalistic apes found in the wild.
Habitants.
Chimps and mountain gorillas both prefer to live in forested habitants, albeit to a certain extent the gorillas prefer the higher elevations of the forests while the chimps prefer the lower altitudes. This indicates that for visitors who often come for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safaris, the gorilla trekking safari takes more time, but the chimpanzee trekking takes less time.
Social.
Although both chimpanzees and mountain gorillas are sociable primates, chimpanzees exhibit higher levels of sociality due to their tendency to dwell in larger groups (up to 100 individuals) than gorillas (who typically number no more than 40).
Leadership.
Every group of mountain gorillas has a dominant male known as the silverback who leads the other men, females, and their young ones. When a male offspring reaches maturity, it can be sent outside the family. In the case of the chimpanzees, numerous males share the group and can assume the role of leader at any time.
Movements.
Chimpanzees and mountain gorillas do walk upright and use all four limbs. Since gorillas are large animals, chimpanzees move more quickly than gorillas. Although mountain gorillas can run rather quickly, they cannot run as quickly as chimpanzees.
Feeding habits.Â
Both chimpanzees and mountain gorillas are classified as herbivores that rely on plants, fruits, leaves, stems, and roots, but in the case of the chimps, they also consume other small mammals, such as ants, making them more omnivorous than mountain gorillas.
Off springs.
The gorilla gives birth after 8.5 months, whereas the chimpanzee gives birth after 8 months, making all these primates similar to humans in this regard. The chimpanzee will easily have one child in five years, while the female gorilla will do the same in two years.