Are gorillas friendly or aggressive?

Gorillas have been portrayed in movies (King Kong) as violent and aggressive beasts. But is this the true image of the gorillas?

Gorillas are the biggest and strongest of the primates and great apes (see the gorilla strength here), it is therefore not hard to think they are aggressive or unfriendly..

So, are gorillas aggressive or friendly primates?

Gorillas – the gentle giants

Gorillas are so peaceful that they have earned the title “gentle giants”.

In Africa where the gorillas live in forests near the people, such as Bwindi forest in Uganda or Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, there are very rare cases of gorillas attacking humans as compared to chimps that frequently aggress the locals near the forests.

Also, the peaceful nature of gorillas allows for the gorilla trekking adventures in Africa where tourists trek the jungle to see a group of gorillas without any barrier. You imagine coming face to face within seven meters of a 200kg wild Silverback Gorilla deep in African jungle but the huge ape simply goes about his business without being bothered at all! Feels like a dream, right? I don’t know of any other untamed land animal that allows this sort of interaction.

Well, research shows that the emotional well-being of gorillas is so important to their overall welfare. They therefore avoid situations that will disturb their peace and so they try as much as possible to flee from none peaceful environments and situation.

When are gorillas aggressive?

Gorillas are generally peaceful primates but they can also be aggressive. Here is when gorillas can be aggressive

Lone males looking for a group

When young male gorillas mature into silverbacks they may yearn to lead a gorilla family of their own and if they cannot challenge the dominant silverback of their family or try to challenge and fail, they are ticked out or leave the group and wonder into the jungles to find a group to conquer and take on. During this time lone male gorillas are quite unhappy and thus aggressive.

Silverback gorilla defending his group and dominance

The silverback gorillas will become aggressive if he feels the safety of his group is threatened by an intruding species. During the gorilla trek adventure, tourists are advised to maintain a distance of at least 7 meters from the gorilla and avoid eye contact with the silverback gorilla that interprets it as a challenge to his authority. Here is more on what to do when encountering gorillas

The silverback gorilla will get aggressive when being challenged by another silverback gorilla for his leadership of the gorilla group.

Cantankerous or troublesome individuals in the group

Just like in a family or community of people there is a person with a troublesome character, even among gorillas there may be an individual known for an aggressive character. During gorilla trekking in Africa the guides know which individuals are troublesome and will alert tourists to stay clear. For instance in Uganda’s Bwindi forest park in the Mishaya gorilla family one cantankerous individual is a known kicker so tourists are told to stay clear or be very vigilant. This individual has battle marks on his face and shoulders a sign of how aggressive he is.