Biggest Gorilla in UK.

J

Johnny Morris.

Well-Known Member
I went to Bristol today and the silverback got me thinking. Is he the biggest in the UK or is there bigger? Anyone Know which Gorrilla is the biggest in the UK?
 
Depends what you mean by biggest?

But it appears you are after which one weighs the most? Which is not necessarily the biggest.
 
Nico was the largest male after jumbo who was at jeresy zoo. due to age nico isnt the largest. but he has the most impressive silver back and i dnt just mean due to age
 
taun said:
haha......he definitely not the "biggest" gorilla in the uk.
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I looked him up on their website and it says he isn't fully mature, so i agree.

Taun, you seem to be in the know, but also seem reluctant to pass on your knowledge.

Ok maybe i should have asked which is the largest Gorilla in the UK. If you don't want to offer your knowledge on the subject fair enough, but is there any need for the some what mocking posts you are making?
 
I just think its a novel thing to read on this forum, which makes people make fun of something. Usually threads have a context, ie news, or history, or debate around conservation or welfare. Some threads are less meaningful and more 'fantasy football league' with people posting how they'd arrange zoos and exhibits their way, but I rarely come across a thread asking for a statistic without a context. Doesn't mean its a bad thing. But if you were interested in, say, enclosure size relative to silverback size, or breeding success relative to silverback size or weight, I'd find that very interesting.

Like if I asked 'which zoo has the fiercest tiger?', I'd get some fun made of me, but also maybe a few good stories :)
 
To tell you the truth i don't usually spend much time looking at the Gorillas at Bristol, because it tends to get a bit crowded. Yesterday i had taken my nephew and niece to the zoo and we managed to fight our way to the front of the viewing area. And i was amazed at the sheer size of (So i've since found out) Jock. I've seen Gorillas elsewhere, but have not really been as struck by the size of them as i was of him.

I don't think it's the same as asking what is the fiercest tiger, because just by looking around a few of the sites it seems that Zoos/Safari parks state the weight of their Silverbacks. Although i'm also suspicious that some zoos may just state 200kg for a Silverback because maybe that's the average weight for a Silverback.

I'd appreciate any help with my peculier querry and thanks in advance to anyone who can give that help.
 
I agree you with Jock is an impressive chap.

I also agree that not all of us on here have the same level of knowledge and expertise (I certainly can't compare with the knowledge of lots of members on here), and therefore, it can make me wary of posting some questions because of the sarky response from a very small minority of members.

If you don't like the question, prehaps simply refraining from commenting on it would be the polite response.

Im not saying don't have a joke or a laugh, but let's not do it at someone elses expense, it can put people like me off posting.
 
Don't forget that an animal's size can be deceptive, depending on the viewing conditions- the closer you are to an animal the bigger it seems.

Most Gorilla weights, where published, are either estimates or based on the last time the animal was under anaethsetic, in which case he may be lighter or heavier now. A few places used to have scales in the cage (does Bristol?) although that seems much rarer nowadays than in the past.

As someone else pointed out, 'Largest' can also mean either by size or by weight so there might be different contenders in each category.

I think the biggest Silverback gorillas currently in the UK would probably be from among the following;
Jock- Bristol
Boulas- Twycross
Ambam -Port Lympne.
Timbou/ Boumi/Mataki/Djala etc Port Lympne

I suspect that currently both the largest and heaviest is 'AmBam'

I saw Nico(Longleat) at close range when he was on loan at Bristol Zoo some years ago and he's average sized, not unduly large.
 
Johnny Morris. said:
I looked him up on their website and it says he isn't fully mature, so i agree.

Taun, you seem to be in the know, but also seem reluctant to pass on your knowledge.

Ok maybe i should have asked which is the largest Gorilla in the UK. If you don't want to offer your knowledge on the subject fair enough, but is there any need for the some what mocking posts you are making?
Click to expand...

I have seen a fair few silverbacks but do not have information on their weight or height....hence why I have not commened on such.

Also as johnstoni pointed out it was a very open question and was just trying to discover what you actually meant by it.
 
Pertinax said:
Don't forget that an animal's size can be deceptive, depending on the viewing conditions- the closer you are to an animal the bigger it seems.

Most Gorilla weights, where published, are either estimates or based on the last time the animal was under anaethsetic, in which case he may be lighter or heavier now. A few places used to have scales in the cage (does Bristol?) although that seems much rarer nowadays than in the past.

As someone else pointed out, 'Largest' can also mean either by size or by weight so there might be different contenders in each category.

I think the biggest Silverback gorillas currently in the UK would probably be from among the following;
Jock- Bristol
Boulas- Twycross
Ambam -Port Lympne.
Timbou/ Boumi/Mataki/Djala etc Port Lympne

I suspect that currently both the largest and heaviest is 'AmBam'

I saw Nico(Longleat) at close range when he was on loan at Bristol Zoo some years ago and he's average sized, not unduly large.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much Pertinax for taking the time to reply.
 
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