There are a number of primates in the world and these include apes, baboons, chimpanzees, monkeys, gorillas, orangutan, slow Loris and many more but of all these, the gist of most tourists on their primate tours in Uganda is chimpanzees and gorillas. Many travelers wonder whether chimpanzees and gorillas are really similar or have any remarkable differences but below are the comparison of these wonderful primates.
Both the chimpanzees and gorillas are primates and belong to Kingdom Animalia with very close proximity to humans. They have a large brain and with this, there is a high level of intelligence in all their behaviors like caring for young ones, feeding, finding habitat, and reproduction that you will enjoy encountering on your primate safaris in Uganda. However, chimpanzees have the second largest brain compared to body size after human beings and so have a slightly higher intelligence than the gorillas.
The gorilla is known to be the largest primate on earth and an adult male gorilla weighs about 150 kg and 180cm tall which is a greater stature than that of a chimpanzee because an adult male chimpanzee weighs about 70kg which is just about half the gorilla’s weight. With this, gorillas have larger jaw muscles, generally thicker bones, larger head crests and larger limbs than chimpanzees.
Both chimpanzees and gorillas have a long life span but gorillas live longer up to a span of about 55 years than chimpanzees that have a life span of about 40 years.
Chimpanzees have larger and more prominent ears where they usually stick grass and yet gorillas have very tiny ears compared to their huge size.
Chimpanzees are omnivores feeding on insects, plants, bush babies and more varieties while gorillas are mainly herbivores feeding on plant leaves, roots, stems, nettles and some fruits.
Gorilla groups known as troops are usually made up of one male who is the troop leader, a number of females and their off springs while chimpanzees have distinct male and female groups known as communities.
When angry or attacked, both gorillas and chimpanzees react and will show all their teeth, gorillas will beat their chest as a sign of aggressiveness and chimpanzees will scream and kick trees in aggression.
Planning to do gorilla or chimpanzee tracking Uganda, contact us on email info@ugandasafaribookings.com or call us on +256700135510
