8 Difference Between Gorillas and Humans (With Table)

What is the difference between Gorillas and Humans?

Gorillas are the largest living primates and they belong to two species. That is the western gorillas and the Eastern gorillas. Humans are also primates but belong to the species Homo sapiens.

They share many things such as sight, sense of smell and hearing is more like that of a human. They move from childhood to maturity just like human beings.

The main difference between gorillas and humans is that gorillas move around by knuckle-walking that is walking using their knuckles to support their weight and balance while humans are bipedal species, they walk using their two rear limbs.

Comparison Table (Gorillas vs Humans)

Characteristics	Gorilla	Human
Classification	They belong to two species.	They belong to one species.
Movement	They move around using their knuckles.	They move around using their two rear limbs.
What they feed on	They are herbivores; they generally feed on vegetables, fruits, shoots, and bamboo.	They are omnivores; they feed on both plant matter and meat.
Communication	They communicate using signs.	Their language is much developed and communicate by talking.
Curiosity	They are less curious and just live in their environment.	They are more curious and this has led to the development of advanced tools, technology, and science.
Behavior	They live in troops of 25 to 30.	They live in large colonies.
Endangerment	They are endangered species due to human influence on their environment and poaching.	They are responsible for the gorilla’s endangerment by invading their natural habitat.
Life span	They live between 30 to 50 years.	They live between 65 to 70 years.

What is Gorilla?

Gorilla is a long-living primate. It has two species. That is the Western gorilla and the Eastern gorilla. They are ground-dwelling predominantly herbivores animals.

They inhabit the tropical forests of the central sub-Sahara. They are the closest relatives to humans as they share most of the characteristics.

They live in troops of 25 to 30 members and they have a leader called silverback. The Eastern gorilla has darker fur color hence easily distinguished from the Western gorilla.

Both the Eastern and Western gorillas are endangered species in the world. They are hunted for their meat and their natural habitat is being destroyed by humans. However, conservation measures have been put in some of the areas where they live.

They are herbivores. They entirely feed on plant matter. They feed on vegetables, fruits, and bamboo. This makes them inhabit forests so that they may get access to food.

It is only the leader that has the right to mate with the females. Their gestation period is eight and half months and birth occur at night. They give birth after every four years. The females take care of the young ones.

What is Human?

Human is species of primates that are found worldwide. They belong to the Homo Sapiens species. They are characterized by being hairless, walking on their two rear limbs, intelligent, able to use tools, and well-developed communication.

The spread of species and increase in population has largely affected the biosphere and millions of species worldwide.

The presence of a large developed brain has enabled humans to have abstract reasoning, language, problem-solving, sociality, and culture through social learning.

They are omnivores. They feed on both plant matter and meat. They are adapted to a wide range of diets, from vegetables to meat.

The fertilization in humans is internal. The gestation period takes 9 months and the parents take care of the young ones until they grow fully.

Main Differences between Gorillas and Humans

Gorillas move around on knuckles while humans move around on their two rear limbs.
Gorillas communicate by use of sounds while humans have well-developed language.
Gorillas are herbivores while humans are omnivores.
Gorillas are less intelligent as they cannot use tolls while humans are able to use tools.
Gorillas are not curious about the environment around them while humans are curious about the environment around them.
Gorillas are endangered species while humans are endangering gorillas by poaching and destroying their habitats.

Similarities between Gorillas and Humans

They both belong to the primate.
Both are able to communicate.
Both move on their limbs.
They both give birth to young ones.

In Conclusion

Gorillas and humans both belong to the primate. Gorillas have two species that is the Western and the Eastern species. Humans have one species that is the Homo Sapiens.

The two share many features such as moving on their limbs and have the ability to communicate. However, the two are different from each other in that Gorillas move on knuckles while humans move on their rear limbs.

The main feature that makes gorillas different from humans is how they move and what they feed on.

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