AnAge entry for Gorilla gorilla

Classification (HAGRID: 02788)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Primates (Taxon entry)
                Family: Hominidae
                    Genus: Gorilla
Species: Gorilla gorilla
Common name: Gorilla

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity

60.1 years (captivity)

Source

ref. 1151

Sample size

Large

Data quality

Acceptable

Observations

Little is known about ageing in gorillas. One study in the wild on the /beringei/ subspecies found that females can live over 43 years [1091]. Moreover, one wild born female was about 53.5 years when she died in captivity [0671]. The record longevity, however, appears to belong to a female called "Colo" that died at Columbus Zoo in Ohio at 60.1 years of age. "Colo" was the first gorilla born in a zoo. Cause of death was unknown but she had previously had cancer. Another female called "Jenny" died at Dallas Zoo from an inoperable stomach tumour at 55.4 years of age and, although anecdotal, apparently showed early signs of cataracts.

Both wild and in captivity members of the /beringei/ subspecies have shown signs of Aβ and a limited tau pathology with age [1399]. Furthermore, mountainous /beringei/ gorillas suffer less from dental senescence, when compared with other primates, maintaining dental function throughout their long lifespan [1400].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity: 2,829 days
Male sexual maturity: 4,015 days
Gestation: 256 days
Weaning
Litter size: 1 (viviparous)
Litters per year: 0.3
Inter-litter interval: 1,397 days
Weight at birth: 2,061 g
Weight at weaning
Adult weight: 139,842 g
Postnatal growth rate: 0.0008 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual: 200%

Metabolism

Typical body temperature: 309ºK or 35.5ºC or 95.9ºF
Basal metabolic rate: Not yet available

References

[1258] Margulis et al. (2017), What necropsy reports can tell us about menopausal and age-related changes in Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
[1399] Perez et al. (2016), Early Alzheimer's disease-type pathology in the frontal cortex of wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) (PubMed)
[1400] Glowacka et al. (2016), Age-related changes in molar topography and shearing crest length in a wild population of mountain Gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (PubMed)
[1231] Lowenstine et al. (2016), Comparative Pathology of Aging Great Apes: Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans (PubMed)
[1126] Perez et al. (2013), Alzheimer's disease pathology in the neocortex and hippocampus of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (PubMed)
[1106] Weiss et al. (2013), Extraversion predicts longer survival in gorillas: an 18-year longitudinal study (PubMed)
[1091] Bronikowski et al. (2011), Aging in the natural world: comparative data reveal similar mortality patterns across primates (PubMed)
[1026] Brown and Finnegan (2007), Resting heart rate and tympanic temperature in operant conditioned western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (PubMed)
[1142] Kohler et al. (2006), Comparative mortality levels among selected species of captive animals
[0715] Lorenzini et al. (2005), Cellular replicative capacity correlates primarily with species body mass not longevity (PubMed)
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0341] Atsalis et al. (2004), Sexual behavior and hormonal estrus cycles in captive aged lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) (PubMed)
[0681] Peter Kappeler and Michael Pereira (2003), Primate Life Histories and Socioecology
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0467] Lindenfors (2002), Sexually antagonistic selection on primate size
[0342] Kimura et al. (2001), Senile plaques in an aged western lowland gorilla (PubMed)
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0679] Harvey and Clutton-Brock (1985), Life-history variation in primates
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
[0059] Tolmasoff et al. (1980), Superoxide dismutase: correlation with life-span and specific metabolic rate in primate species (PubMed)
[0436] Cutler (1979), Evolution of human longevity: a critical overview (PubMed)
[1151] Columbus Zoo

External Resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information System: ITIS 573080
Animal Diversity Web: ADW account (if available)
Encyclopaedia of Life: Search EOL
NCBI Taxonomy: Taxonomy ID 9593
Entrez: Search all databases
Ageing Literature: Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed
Images: Google Image search
Internet: Search Google