Silverback Gorilla vs Orangutan Who is the king of the Great Apes Family? A silverback gorilla is the mature, experienced male leader of a group of mountain gorillas in the wild. Named for the silver saddles across his back, the silverback is responsible for the safety of his group. A group of gorillas, also called a “troop,” can contain from 5 to 30 gorillas. The silverback decides where the troop travels, where it forages for food, where it will rest and where it will sleep at night. Orangutans are great apes, a classification that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans. They are the only great apes found in Asia. Orangutans are also the world’s largest arboreal mammals, which means they are the largest mammals that have the capability to live in trees. Orangutans are endangered. They have become extinct in some parts of Asia. Most of their forest habitat in Borneo and Sumatra has been lost to make room for palm oil plantations. Size and Description Silverbacks are very large. When they stand upright, they are from 5.5 to 6 feet tall (1.6 -2 meters) and weigh as much as 350 pounds (160 kg). Females typically are no taller than 5 feet (1.5 meters) and weigh as much as 200 pounds (90kg). The silverback's ears look small for its head. Males have a large bony crest on the tops of their skulls and back, which helps support their jaw muscles and teeth. The bony crest gives their heads a conical shape. Females have the same crest as well, but it is not as pronounced as it is in males. Silverbacks also are very hairy; they are the hairiest of all gorilla species. Their hair is long and thick, and helps to insulate them at high elevations. Silverbacks get their silver saddle at around 12 years old. Younger males who don't yet have the silver saddle are called "blackbacks." Orangutans are covered in long, flowing red or orange fur, except for their distinct bare faces. Their arms are longer than their bowed legs, and their hands much like human hands. Because orangutans spend most of their time in trees, their long arms, fingers and toes are quite useful as they swing from branch to branch. An orangutan’s arm-span is longer that its height. A male’s arm-span can reach 7 feet (2 meters) from fingertip to fingertip. They also have larger cheek pads, called flanges, which form rigid half-circles on the sides of their faces. An unflanged male can become a flanged male, but scientists are uncertain as to why or how. Both unflanged and flanged males can produce offspring. On average, orangutan females are around 3.75 feet (1.2 m) tall, while males are around 4.5 feet (1.36 m) tall. Females weigh an average of 81.5 lbs. (37 kilograms) and males average around 191 lbs. (87 kg). Range and Habitat Gorillas primarily inhabit tropical forest habitats. However, rainfall varies considerably in the tropics and is a primary factor as to the type of vegetation that grows in an area. The western lowland gorilla inhabits the tropical forests of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea (West Africa). The eastern lowland gorilla inhabits the tropical forests of Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountain gorilla inhabits the high altitude (1,650-3,790 m/5,413-12,435 ft) tropical forests of Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda (around the Virunga volcanoes). Orangutans are found in Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. These apes were once widespread throughout mainland Asia during the Pleistocene. Orangutans prefer a habitat that exists along waterways and in lowlands because of their high dependence on fruit. Biologists have described their habitats as inaccessible, swamp logged, leech-laden tropical forests. The islands of Borneo and Sumatra have vast mountain ranges and Orangutans are rarely seen in elevations that exceed 500 meters. In Sumatra, Orangutans are entirely arboreal because of large predators such as tigers, leopards patrol the forest floor. Borneo contains fewer large predators so males will travel Terrestrially and feed on the ground, but females will remain in the trees because of their smaller size. Diet In the wild, a gorillas diet is similar to that of the chimpanzee, however, these gorillas eat larger fruits and mature leaves and stems. The gorillas diet includes parts of at least 97 plant species, as well as invertebrates, such as termites and ants. Adult male gorillas eat about 60 – 70 pounds (25-30kg) of food per day. Adult female gorillas eat about two thirds of that amount. An orangutan will typically spend around half of its day finding food. They are mainly frugivores, which means that they generally prefer to eat forest fruits whenever they are available. When the forest is in low fruiting season however, they’ll increase the amount of leaves, barks, piths and insects in their diets. As a species overall, orangutans are known to have eaten around 400 different plant species. This also helps to explain why they have also evolved such great intelligence as they commit to memory an incredibly detailed map of the forest, and document where and when certain trees bear fruit during the year throughout their large home ranges. Behavior Despite their formidable size and strength, mountain gorillas are quite gentle and even shy. They are very social animals, but within their own tight-knit, nomadic troops. They show each other affection, often hugging and playing with each other, much like humans do. Also like humans, mountain gorillas laugh and even throw things when they get angry. Although they typically are peaceful, younger males from other troops may challenge a silverback. To ward off unwanted gorillas, the silverback will beat his chest with cupped hands, scream and bare his teeth, and charge at the intruder. Orangutans are generally placid and deliberate, and in captivity they have shown considerable ingenuity and persistence, particularly in manipulating mechanical objects. They have demonstrated cognitive abilities such as causal and logical reasoning, self-recognition in mirrors, deception, symbolic communication, foresight, and tool production and use. Adult males are the most solitary, engaging in threatening displays upon meeting other males. They share company with females only for reproductive purposes. Unusual in primates, orangutans are primarily solitary (live alone). Who would win in a fight, a Gorilla or an Oragutan? Both Orangutans and Gorillas are several times stronger, pound for pound than Humans. These two members of the great ape family live in totally different parts of the world and never cross paths in their natural environments. Therefore, since we really have no accurate way of answering this question, we have to guesstimate. Assuming it's an adult male gorilla vs. an adult male orangutan, I've got to go with the gorilla. Orangutans are solitary, transient animals which primarily use their long powerful arms for locomotion. They don't usually fight and they lack the large fangs and protruding jaws of the gorilla. Their bodies are also poorly proportioned for ground movement and they prefer to avoid other animals than fight directly. Their climbing skill is much more effective than simply hitting predators. Gorillas, on the other hand, are social animals which establish dominance through non-lethal physical force. They could reasonably be compared to the football players of the animal world. Although their “games” don't typically cause lasting harm, they're no strangers to physical contact. Their bodies are vastly better proportioned for ground movement and fighting. An adult male gorilla will also have a size advantage over an orangutan. They're simply better built for fighting.