African elephant vs gorilla

Loxodonta africana compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while gorilla is Critically Endangered.
• African elephant is 37.5x heavier than gorilla.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 40 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	gorilla
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳動物)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Proboscidea (长鼻目)	Primates (灵长目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Gorilla gorilla

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and gorilla share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (哺乳動物)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

gorilla

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	gorilla
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	40 years
Average Length	6.0 m	1.7 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	160.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

gorilla

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 4 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Cameroon, Congo (Republic), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African elephant

非洲象是地球上体型最大的陆地动物，体重可达7,000千克，栖息于撒哈拉以南非洲的草原、稀树草原和森林中。作为关键种，它们通过挖掘水源、传播种子和改变植被结构，深刻塑造了其栖息地的生态系统。受栖息地丧失和象牙盗猎威胁，非洲象的保护至关重要。

gorilla

西部大猩猩是世界上最大的灵长类动物，体重可达180千克，栖息于赤道非洲的热带和亚热带森林。主要为草食性，以保护族群并调解社会冲突的银背雄性为首形成家族群体。由于森林砍伐、丛林肉偷猎和埃博拉病毒疾病暴发，被列为极度濒危（CR）。