Are These Gorillas in Rwanda or on Wrestlemania?

Gorillas are known for their intimidating strength, massive size, and human-like behaviors. In fact, according to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Fossey Fund researchers in Rwanda and Congo have even witnessed gorillas grieving, similarly to how humans mourn their loved ones. The gentle giants tend to express such sorrow when one of their own species passes, even if they didn’t know the deceased animal. It might come as a shock, then, to see two or more gorillas aggressively fight.

However, gorillas do often attack one another, as demonstrated in this YouTube video, for a variety of reasons. The two silverback gorillas in the clip step toward one another and seemingly throw punches as others try to break up the brawl. So why do gorillas fight, and is this a common behavior?

Are Gorillas Known for Fighting? 

Gorillas are genuinely known to be peaceful creatures, but fights among the species do happen. This behavior is especially common between leaders of different groups. Experts at Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe e.V., a German nonprofit dedicated to gorilla conservation, report that gorillas will sometimes even fight each other to death. 

However, the nonprofit also states that gorillas typically handle disputes without any form of violence. Instead, they will threaten their opponents through display behavior. For example, gorillas will often beat their chests and hoot. You can hear the hooting in the YouTube video linked above. 

Hooting is a form of communication for gorillas. According to an article in the Journal of Language Evolution, dominant silverbacks often use this call to display their power. Sometimes, the sound is also a way to alert other pack members of a fight. As you can see in the video, many gorillas from the group attempted to “break up” the brawl. 

Why Do Gorillas Fight Each Other?

The most common reason for a gorilla fight is to establish dominance. When two leaders of different packs run into each other, they will often become aggressive. 

Some young male gorillas or non-dominant mature male silverbacks will also try to challenge the hierarchy of their pack by fighting the leader. This likely was the case in the video, which features two silverbacks from the Amahoro group in the Volcanoes National Park Rwanda.

While there were humans filming the gorilla fight, these altercations typically don’t draw a large audience. Other gorillas might crowd around the rivals, but humans don’t often witness this behavior in the wild. In fact, while gorillas rarely express aggression toward humans, they might attack if they feel threatened. In other words, it’s best to give them space if you encounter a similar situation, especially when the gorillas are already riled up.