Gorillas are vegetarian, why are they so physically powerful?

Question

Gorillas look powerful. I would like to know what is their main source of protein comes from? Since gorillas are vegeterian for the most part, does that mean they have to eat lots of fruits and vegetable to get high amount of protein for their muscules. Bears are very strong animal, but their protein comes from fish and possibly other sources of meat. How can a gorilla be so strong being raised on bananas?

I did not ask why they are so powerful in social sense, I want to know where they get that power from, dietwise.

the_lipsiot, that was the answer I was looking for. Thank you.

barebackrider_19, you have a great point about those animals, I never even thought about it in depth. Thanks for your answer. Also, I respect anyone regardless of diet choice.

Answer 1

One misconception about the gorilla diet is that it contains no animal products. On the contrary, all of the great ape groups take in some animal protein, whether overtly or inadvertently, by consuming insects, insect eggs and the larvae that nest on the plants and fruits they eat. Although admittedly it is a small proportion of their diet, this is where the protein comes from. Also an adult male gorilla may consume more than 18 kg (40 lb) of vegetation per day.

A typical gorilla's diet would be for instance,

The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) subspecies consumes parts of at least 97 plant species. About 67% of their diet is fruit, 17% is leaves, seeds and stems and 3% is termites and caterpillars.

The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) subspecies consumes parts of at least 142 plant species and only 3 types of fruit (there is hardly any fruit available due to the high altitude. About 86% of their diet is leaves, shoots, and stems, 7% is roots, 3% is flowers, 2% is fruit, and 2% ants, snails, and grubs.

Answer 2

Vegan Gorilla

Answer 3

All apes consume some amount of animal protein, and that includes us. There are certain nutrients that we need that we don t get from vegetation alone. One is B12, which is only available from creatures that have an intestine, basically animals (including insects). Also, plants contain proteins and we are told that pound for pound, beans, nuts, and seed contain more protein than chicken or beef. This is true, however, our stomachs are not so much sensitive to the weight, but more the volume. You would need to eat a large volume of beans, nuts, and seeds in order to consume the same amount as a 4 oz steak. I don t know about you, but I certainly can t consume a large amount of beans, as this would give me digestive issues. Still, the proteins from vegetation are not the same as those from animal products. Animal proteins are complete proteins with all the necessary amino acids, whereas vegetation proteins are not.

We are historically omnivores, meaning that we have consumed vegetation and animal products since we existed some 1 - 2 million years ago. Given that western societies consume too much meat, we still need to consume some small amount of animal products, be it milk, eggs, chicken, beef, fish, etc. A complete vegan diet is deficient of the nutrients that we require from animal products. Without some supplementation, vegans will end up with dry thinning hair, dementia, and nerve damage over time. Simply put, a vegan diet is not sustainable!

Answer 4

Anyone mentioned that Gorillas eat lots of Probiotics from their environment?

Answer 5

The sheer amount of vegetation they eat provides enough protein. Green stuff is actually pretty high in protein. Per pound of dry weight, broccoli and spinach rival meat! The reason why they're not considered protein food for humans is because of their water content, you'd need to consume pounds of the fresh stuff to get a large amount of protein.

Answer 6

The_lipsi.. is correct about gorilla diet, they almost completely eat fruit/leaves/veggie only 3% termites and such... Ok here is another thing to chew on hehe... if you think its strange how a gorilla can get so powerfull on a mostly vegan diet, then what about powerfull muscular animals like horses/cows/elephants? they eat almost 100% grass and some other vegitation. believe it or not but meat is not the only way to gain muscle mass. I am a Vegitarian and I am no push over!! I am a 5.4 foot girl weigh 120pounds and in great shape. Go veggie power!!!

Answer 7

Contrary to popular belief, vegetables do contain protein. The small amount of animal protein that sneaks into a gorilla's diet alone would not be enough to support them. They eat a large amount of plant based foods, all of which contains protein.

(On a side note, gorillas also have large canines which have nothing to do with eating meat :))

Answer 8

Their muscle structure is different then human. The connections points are different. They also have bigger muscles. So it not surprising that they are physically more powerful then a human, chimps are more powerfully than human too from many of the same reasons.

Answer 9

You can get B12 from yeasts. It is a complete fallacy that meat is needed. We can eat it, but we do not have to. Just do a search on vegan athletes!

Answer 10

Horses and elephants are strong too. Where did you get the idea you have to eat meat to be strong?