Silverback Gorilla Strength: How Powerful is A Silverback?: The dominate Silverback, a male gorilla is the most powerful member of a gorilla family and its strength is certainly formidable. A silverback weighs up 458 pounds (220 kg) and stands at 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall, they are incredibly strong and can lift more than 800 kg (1,763 pounds) of weight. This is approximately twice weight of a well-trained weightlifter.
Gorillas are categorised into sub species that mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas. These primates hared 98% of DNA Composition of humans, this is a reason to why they are the closely-related to humans and have similar actions.
Mountain gorillas reside on the slopes of volcanoes and are only found in three countries in the whole world that is Uganda, Rwanda and DR.Congo, and they can only be seen on a gorilla trekking adventure. Unlike other gorilla species, mountain gorillas cannot thrive in zoos.
What is A Silverback?
A silverback is a male gorilla that has reached its full grown stage, at this stage he develops a swath of silvery grey hair on his back. This is similar to how humans develop grey hair in their late adult life.
But unlike humans, female gorillas do not develop silvery grey backs like silverbacks.
The silvery grey back of the male gorilla looks silvery contracting beautifully with the dark black fur of the rest of the body, and thus the name SILVERBACK.

At this level of maturity, Silverbacks are known for their displays of dominance that includes whooping, chest beating, charging, tree slapping, and less commonly, physical duels. A male gorilla attains the prestigious status of a silverback between the age of 13 and 15 years. Before attaining this status, the gorilla goes through several stages of growth including
- Infant (0 to 4 years) that is still dependent on the mother breastfeeding
- Juvenile (4 to 6 years) that has been weaned by the mother and becomes semi-independent
- Adolescence (6 to 8 years), males that are not sexually active
- Sub-adult (8 to 10 years) a male is now sexually active
- Black back (10 t0 13 years) sexually mature but not fully mature physically
- Silverback (13+ years) full mature and the grey hair starts to develop
Weight of a Silverback
The silverback gorilla is the biggest ape in the world, by the age of 13 years the male gorillas that have now turned into Silverbacks grow tremendously in size, achieving a size that is twice that of the adult female gorillas.
The Silverback will reach a standing height of over 6 feet (2 meters), and weight up to 573 pounds (260 kilograms), and their arm spans up to 2.6 meters.
The heaviest silverback ever recorded was 1.83 meters silverback shot in Cameroon, he weighed 589 pounds (267 kilograms). Silverbacks in captivity can reach a weight of up to 683 pounds (310 kilograms).
Facts About Silverback Gorilla Strength
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Silverback Gorilla Vs Human
Comparing the strength of a silverback to human strength, gorillas are between 4 to 9 times stronger than man. Because of their size and strength, a silverback gorilla can lift double the weight of a dead weight lifted by a strong human being.
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Can a human fight a Silverback Gorilla
This is a common question asked by many people, truth is an unarmed human being could not be a gorilla in a fight. In fact, if you had to go hand to hand with any other animal on the planet, a silverback gorilla would be one of the worst draws you could manage. You would only survive if that was what the silverback wanted.
A silverback weighs between 136 to 200 kg on average and the weight of a human is between 60 to 80 kg. And gorillas are wild animals, their wild nature would not let them fight you like human to human. They fight in a wild way and this can indeed lead to a very dangerous end of the fight.
This is evident even in their fights when a silverback gorilla fights with another silverback or any other gorilla. A gorilla’s fight which is common during the fights, no way a human would survive this bite. Gorillas’ mouths are large and they also have powerful jaws and sharp teeth.
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How Strong is a Gorilla Punch
It is believed that a silverback gorilla punch is strong enough to shatter your skull with one slam of its powerful arm. However, it doesn’t mean that gorillas go around throwing powerful punches.
Despite of their huge size and incredible strength, gorillas are peaceful creatures
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Silverback Gorilla Teeth & Jaws
Silverbacks have powerful jaws
The jaw force of a silverback is not the only thing that makes the silverback dangerous, these Great Apes also have large teeth and sharp canines that can grow up to two inches long. Their teeth are not for chomping flesh, they are used for display, in particular to defend against external threats, as well as fend off other male gorillas competing for dominance.
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How Strong is a Silverback Gorilla Bite
One bite from this gentle giant, you will not survive and live to see another day. Gorillas are kinds of creatures that share similar characteristics of monstrous massive mouths and razor-sharp teeth. With ability to bite 1300 Psi, silverback has a weapon that can save it during emergencies. In comparison, lions can produce a mere 650 Psi while the bull shark can strain itself to bite down at 1350 Psi.
So when you think of how strong gorillas are in terms of how much they can lift above, these rainforest giants also have one of the strongest bites on the planet.

Why Are Silverbacks So Strong
Silverback gorillas’ remarkable strength is due to several factors including their size, shape, and diet. Gorillas have a unique robust physical structure.
A silverback’s arm are incredibly muscular and quite a bit longer than its legs. Gorillas are known to walk on all fours, as well. By so doing, their arms receive enormous amount of daily exercise. As is the case with most animals and plants, diet is the driving factor behind a level of health, fitness, and physical conditioning. Existing on a copious yet sustainable diet composed of plants – loots, shoots, fruits, wild celery, tree bark, pulp and sometimes small insects, gorillas are primarily vegetarians. Their need for up to 20 kilogram of food per day requires the constant gathering and consumption of food. Gorillas have a longer digestive system than human beings do, so they can extract more nutrients from plants than us. Mountain gorillas can absorb a high concentration of carbon which is a basic building block for life, as all mammals are carbon-based entities.
The mass consumption of carbon helps gorillas to become extremely strong. Such an organic, high nutrious intake of low-fat, high-energy ammunition is the oil of the enormous gorilla engine.
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Are Silverbacks Aggressive
Silverback gorillas are strong creatures capable of causing detrimental damage to those most deserving. But they are peaceful creatures and non-aggressive which has earned them a tag “Gentle Giants”.
In the wild, silverbacks use their incredible strength to fold trees to reach its fruits. On a gorilla trekking adventure in Uganda as well Rwanda, you will visit a habituated gorilla family so don’t expect them to start a fight (unless they feel threatened). In fact, they do anything in their power to avoid you.
If a silverback is challenged, it is apt to cowed the challenger with impressive shows of physic power. He may stand upright and pound his huge chest. Visitors on a gorilla trekking experience are always advised to adhere to gorilla trekking rules and regulations. Such as
- Do not use flash photography, as it could startle them
- You should always remember to maintain a 7-meter distance away from gorillas, if you get so close, they could feel threatened and thus become aggressive and charge at you
- Do not make sudden movements or loud noises as they could alarm the gorillas
- If gorillas come close to you, remain submissive and do not look them in the eye, as this is interpreted as a challenge. As tempting as it could be, do not touch a baby gorilla. If you happen to look into the eyes of a gorilla, take a brief moment to enjoy the experience, but then immediately take your gaze off the gorilla’s eyes and look down. This signals to the silverback that you are not a threat and that everyone can relax
- Always stick with your group under the leadership of a trained Park ranger and guide. Moving out of the group without a ranger could put you in danger.