Do you want to compare gorilla years to human years? In the wild gorillas have an average lifespan of around 35 to 40 years for males, up to 50 years for females. Captive gorillas can live 40-50 years, and some individuals have even reached their 60s!

This is much shorter than the average human lifespan of about 72 years.

Eastern Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri): They generally have a shorter lifespan compared to mountain gorillas, with an average of around 30 to 35 years in the wild.

Western Lowland Gorillas In the wild, their lifespan is estimated to be around 30 to 40 years, although some individuals may live longer.

Here is how Gorilla years compared to humans years.

• Newborn gorilla = Newborn human
• 1 year old gorilla = 2.5 year old human
• 5 years old gorilla = 14 year old human
• 10 years old gorilla = 33 year old human
• 20 years old gorilla = 55 year old human
• 30 years old gorilla = 75 year old human

Gorilla Years to Human Years

By using gorilla age calculator, you can convert gorilla age in human years.

Enter Gorilla Years:

Gorilla Age (years)	Human Equivalent (years)	Life Stage
0-3	0-7.5	Infancy
4	11	Early Childhood
5	14.5	Mid-Childhood
6	18	Late Childhood
7	21.5	Early Adolescence
8	25	Mid-Adolescence
9	28.5	Late Adolescence
10	32	Early Adulthood
11	35.5	Mid-Adulthood
12	39	Late Adulthood
13	43	Prime Adulthood
14	47	Prime Adulthood
15	51	Prime Adulthood
16	55	Late Adulthood
17	59	Late Adulthood
18	63	Late Adulthood
19	67	Advanced Age
20	71	Advanced Age
21	75	Advanced Age
22	79	Advanced Age
23	83	Advanced Age
24	87	Exceptional Age
25	91	Exceptional Age
26	95	Exceptional Age
27	99	Exceptional Age
28	103	Exceptional Age

Also Know : – Monkey Years to Human Years

Approach:

1. Gorilla Lifespan: Gorillas in the wild typically live up to 35-40 years, while in captivity, they can live a bit longer, sometimes reaching up to 50 years. In comparison, the average human lifespan is around 80 years.
2. Gorilla Maturity: Gorillas reach sexual maturity around the age of 8-12 years for females and 11-13 years for males.
3. Childhood and Adolescence: Gorillas are considered infants until they reach around 3-4 years of age. They are juveniles from 3-6 years, and from 6 years to maturity, they are considered sub-adults.
4. General Conversion: Given the lifespan and maturity differences, the conversion rate will vary based on the age bracket.

Considering the above points, I’ll use a piecewise formula that takes into account the different stages of a gorilla’s life:

Conversion Formula:

• For the first 3 years of a gorilla’s life: Human years = Gorilla years * 2.5
• From 3 to 6 years: Human years = 7.5 + (Gorilla years – 3) * 3.5
• From 6 years to maturity (let’s average it to 11 years for both genders): Human years = 17.5 + (Gorilla years – 6) * 4
• Beyond 11 years: Human years = 37 + (Gorilla years – 11) * 2

Gorilla Age Chart

• Gorillas reach maturity by about 10 years old, equal to a human in their mid 20s.
• Prime adulthood for a gorilla is early 20s, comparable to late 40s in a human.
• 35+ years is considered old age for a gorilla, similar to retirement age (65+) for humans.
• Exceptional gorilla lifespans into the 40s and 50s are akin to centenarians in human years.

Gorillas develop much faster early on, each year ages them more rapidly compared to human aging over our longer lifespans. Very few gorillas reach the equivalent of elderly human age milestones.

The oldest gorilla in captivity documented was Fatou, a female who turned 65 years old while residing at the Berlin Zoo in Germany in 2022. Having arrived at the Berlin Zoo as a young gorilla in 1959, Fatou has exceeded the typical gorilla lifespan by over a decade thanks to high quality nutrition and veterinary care.

The longest lived male gorilla in records was Ozzie, who lived to 61 years old when he died at the Atlanta Zoo in 2021. This silverback gorilla age significantly beat estimates for wild male gorillas, few of whom survive beyond their 30s due to the intense stresses of leading a gorilla group. 

Read More : – Deer Years to Human Years

How Long Do Gorillas Live in Human Years

On average, gorillas live around 40-50 years, while humans live around 70-80 years. So, in general, humans live longer than gorillas.

Gorillas generally live around 35-50 years in the wild. When converting their lifespan to equivalent human years:

• A newborn gorilla is equal to a newborn human
• By 5 years old, a gorilla reaches maturity similar to a 13-14 year old human
• A 10 year old gorilla is comparable to a 25-30 year old human
• Prime adulthood in the early 20s for a gorilla is like 45-55 years old in human aging
• At 35-40 years old, an aging gorilla mirrors retirement age in humans (65-70)
• Exceptional lifespans into the 40s and 50s for gorillas are similar to 90 to 100+ years in human aging

Very few gorillas reach the equivalent of 80-90+ years old in human aging. Their maximum lifespan in the wild maxes out at about 50 years old, which would equal over 100 years as a human! 

Aging in gorillas vs humans

There are some key differences in how gorillas and humans age over their lifespans:

Developmental Milestones:

• Gorillas reach developmental milestones for weaning, learning life skills, and sexual maturity at earlier calendar ages compared to humans. A 10 year old gorilla can be as mature as a 25 year old human.

Physical Maturation:

• Gorillas are fully grown and at adult size by about 10 years old, versus full physical maturity not occurring until the late teens/early 20s in humans.

Prime Years:

• The prime physical years for a gorilla are the teens through mid 20s. For humans, peak physical condition typically lasts from the 20s through 40s or even 50s.

Middle & Old Age:

• After the mid 20s, gorillas start to slowly exhibit more aging features like graying hair or reduced mobility. In the 30s they are considered elderly, versus middle age in humans.

Advanced Aging:

• Gorillas over 35 years old display significant aspects of advanced aging similar to humans in their late 70s to 90s. Severe cases of arthritis become common. Very few gorillas survive past 50 years old.

Lifespan:

• Lifespans for gorillas top out at 50 years in exceptional cases of very low mortality environments. Modern humans average a lifespan of 70-80+ years enabled by advanced medicine and healthcare.

Gorillas develop faster, each year after physical maturity also appears to age them faster in comparison to human aging over our longer lifespans.

Comparing Gorilla and Human Life Cycles

Comparing the life cycles of primate and humans involves examining the different stages of development, social structures, reproductive strategies, and aging processes in each species. Here’s a comparison of the life cycles of gorillas and humans:

Here is a comparison of the key stages in the life cycles of gorillas versus humans:

Infancy:

• Gorillas: 0-3 years old. Weaned by 2-3 years.
• Humans: 0-2 years old. Weaned by 1-2 years.

Childhood:

• Gorillas: 3-7 years old. Rapid development of motor skills and independence.
• Humans: Much longer childhood spanning ages 2-12. Gradual skill development.

Adolescence:

• Gorillas: 7-10 years old. Sexual maturity reached. Continued physical development.
• Humans: 13-19 years old. Sexual maturity begins during puberty. Peak growth spurt during this stage.

Young Adulthood:

• Gorillas: 10-20 years old. Growth completed. Prime physical strength and stamina.
• Humans: 20-40 years old. Finish physical maturation. Establish independence and families.

Midlife to Aging Stages:

• Gorillas: Over 20 years old classified as mature adults or aging. Oldest gorillas reach 40s-50s.
• Humans: 40-80+ years old stages of middle age through elderly senescence.

In terms of aging…

• Each year appears to age gorillas faster after reaching maturity in their 20s.
• Humans age more slowly, with gradual declines spanning decades due to greater longevity.

Gorillas develop faster but also display aging signs much sooner and die younger compared to slower-developing but longer-lived humans.

Also Read : – Donkey Years to Human Years

How Long Is a Gorilla Pregnancy Compared to Humans?

Gorilla pregnancies are relatively similar in duration to human pregnancies, though there are some differences. The average gestation period for a gorilla is around 8.5 months. This is comparable to the human gestation period, which averages approximately 9 months.

Gestation Period:

• Gorillas: 255 days (about 8.5 months)
• Humans: 280 days (9 months)
• Gorilla pregnancies are around 1 month shorter than the typical human gestation period.

Infants at Birth:

• Newborn gorillas weigh about 4 pounds.
• Newborn humans average 7 pounds.

Human babies are almost twice the size of baby gorillas at birth.

Growth Rate:

• Gorilla infants develop more rapidly. They begin walking at about 2 months old and are weaned as early as 1 year old.
• Human babies reach those milestones significantly later, first walking around 12 months old on average and weaning between 1-2 years old typically.

Number of Babies:

• Gorillas almost always have just one baby at a time. Twins are extremely rare.
• While single births are most common in humans too, human twinning rates are substantially higher at about 3% naturally.

Gorilla pregnancies are slightly shorter, their babies smaller, but infant gorillas grow and develop motor skills much faster compared to human babies and toddlers. Both species predominantly have single births, but twinning happens naturally a bit more often in humans versus almost never in gorillas.

Factors Affecting Gorilla Lifespan vs Human Lifespan

Understanding the differences in gorilla and human lifespans is a fascinating journey into the diverse paths of evolution. While on average, humans live longer than apes (70-80 years vs 40-50 years), several factors contribute to this variation:

Disease and Illness:

• Gorillas lack modern medicine and health care. Sharing habitats with other animals exposes them to more parasites and viruses against which they have no resistance or treatments. This results in higher mortality rates for gorillas at all life stages.

Dangers in the wild:

• Hazards of nature like injuries, falls, encounters with predators, etc can significantly impact gorilla survival but are more preventable for humans.

Mortality during conflicts:

• As social primates with hierarchical groups, male gorillas sometimes get caught up in aggressive fights that result in death. While violence exists in humans too, fatality rates have declined with civilization.

Human impacts:

• Threats like poaching, habitat loss from logging or mining, civil wars in central Africa, etc dramatically impact gorilla lifespan but not (most) humans.

Hunting and food:

• While gorillas have few natural predators left due to their size, searching and competing for vegetarian food supplies poses metabolic costs that decline their rate of aging. Modern humans enjoy steady nutrition with lower physical expenditure for survival.

Reproduction:

• Female gorillas invest significant physical resources in bearing/rearing very few offspring over shorter reproductive spans versus humans. The metabolic costs from this could contribute to accelerated decline.

Gorillas grow and develop rapidly, the harsher mortality environment combined with physiological stresses means most do not actually make it to old age milestones equivalent to those reached by many humans now.

Are Gorilla Years the Same as Human Years?

No, gorilla years are not the same as human years. The concept of “gorilla years” or “animal years” is a way of expressing the age or lifespan of an animal, such as a gorilla, in terms of its own species-specific timeline. It is not a direct equivalent to human years.

Gorillas reach maturity and adulthood milestones at a younger age than humans. For example, a 10 year old gorilla may be as mature as a 25 year old human.

References:

1. San Diego Zoo – Gorilla
2. Gorilla Facts
3. Wikipedia – Gorilla
4. The Gorilla Species Survival Plan:https://www.aza.org/species-survival-plan-programs
5. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International:https://gorillafund.org/
6. The Jane Goodall Institute:https://janegoodall.org/