For one thing, gorillas don't live to old age in the same way humans do. A jungle tribe of human beings would all be fit, because people living in the jungle would die as soon as they started to physically decline. Conversely, if you gave a gorilla all the life extending medical care that humans get, it would eventually get old and withered.
I'm an old timer (64), former bodybuilder back in the 1980s, and I'm losing muscle mass like there's no tomorrow. 😯 But I've never heard of anything like that - you cats got a study link on this? 🤔
Adult male gorillas eat up to 45lbs of food per day. Even though it’s all plant based that’s a heck of a lot of protein and calories to maintain a pretty impressive size. Ever noticed that most old people tend to eat less and less as they age? I’ve definitely noticed this with a lot of my older relatives who eat like a sparrow and get more and more withered. Not to mention as you age it’s naturally harder to maintain muscle mass so it’s a double whammy for muscle loss.
It's their diet. If you ate 40+ lb of leaves, bananas, and caterpillars a day then you could also be buff into your old age
Gorillas can pack that much muscle on such a protein-deficient diet because their guts can convert cellulose into protein, which humans guts simply discard.
To OP’s question though, gorillas like most animals do experience aging-induced sarcopenia.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂 Zoo Atlanta's Ozzie, the world’s oldest living male gorilla and the oldest male gorilla on record, turned 60 years old on Sunday. He enjoyed an ice cake filled with frozen fruit.
Adult male gorillas eat up to 45lbs of food per day. Even though it’s all plant based that’s a heck of a lot of protein and calories to maintain a pretty impressive size. Ever noticed that most old people tend to eat less and less as they age? I’ve definitely noticed this with a lot of my older relatives who eat like a sparrow and get more and more withered. Not to mention as you age it’s naturally harder to maintain muscle mass so it’s a double whammy for muscle loss.
Not me, at 64, I eat a lot every day - healthy food - but a lot 😏 I'm hungry all the time but I'm also working out every day altering cardio days & weight lifting days.
Yes, definitely, it's harder to maintain muscle mass as you age. I don't look anything like I did back in the 1980s when I was competing in bodybuilding.
The main reason for this is age-related declining hormones - particularly testosterone for men. Testosterone is the catalyst for protein synthesis and tissue growth & repair.
Humans can be buff in old age too, but they have evolved to survive the degredation of their bodies much better than gorillas. Before the industrial age most humans, including old ones, were much fitter than the average adult today. A need to exercise or maintain fitness only came about when society and technology allowed some humans outside the elite to become unfit without it.
Gorillas in zoos age and lose muscle. Have you ever looked at former pro bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, Lee Haney, Arnold, Phil Heath, Jay Cutler? they're all still huge muscular men now in their late 40s to 70s, but they're just smaller versions of what they were in their prime