Gorillas, the largest primates in the world, can stand up to six feet tall and weigh upwards of 400 pounds. They’re normally very peaceful animals—more Koko and less King Kong—but a dominant silverback male has the strength of several men, and isn’t afraid to use it to defend his troop.


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The chances of you coming face to face with a gorilla are small, even if you live in their natural habitat. They tend to avoid people and do their own thing. But if you ever go on a jungle expedition, or you’re worried you might fall into the gorilla pit at your local zoo, it doesn’t hurt to know what to do if you’ve made a gorilla mad.

How do you know you’ve upset a gorilla? If a gorilla thinks it is in danger, it will make threats first—like loud grunts and hoots. If that doesn’t drive you away, it will escalate its threats by propping itself on its feet, and pounding its chest at a very fast tempo. At that point, if you don’t take submissive action, it might charge and attack with vicious bites, strikes, scratches, and may even attempt to grab your leg and drag you away.

People not following the rules. Woman almost gets dragged away.

Here’s what you should do the moment you’ve encountered a gorilla:

Slowly crouch down and make yourself small.

Avert your gaze from any nearby gorilla and look away. Attempt to look disinterested.

Gradually create distance between you and the gorillas without making any sudden moves.

Those simple behaviors tell a gorilla that you’re not a threat, and that you have no interest in challenging it. If it does charge you, and it’s not a bluff (most are), turn away from it and lower yourself all the way to the ground. Go limp if it decides to examine you. Eventually it will get bored of you and move on.

No matter what, never:

Run from the gorilla.



Show your teeth.



Raise your arms and try to make yourself look bigger.



Scream and shout.



Thump your chest in return—not even as a joke.



Those actions may provoke the gorilla to defend its territory and you’ll probably get seriously hurt. Fortunately, gorilla attacks are very rare (even in zoos and sanctuaries) and most attacks are provoked or defensive in nature.