See Two Young Gorillas Play Fight, Then Dad Shows Up

Check Out This Video Below To See What Happens When The Adult Shows Up!

Gorillas are one of our closest living relatives and the biggest of the planet’s primates. There are actually four subspecies of gorillas and they share 98% of their DNA with us humans. It is not surprising, therefore, that we recognize some aspects of their behavior and this video shows us a classic example.

Gorillas Play Fighting

In this charming footage, we see a young gorilla in captivity nibbling on a leaf. Suddenly, they leap up and bound over to their friend. This is when the play fighting begins! The two little gorillas wrestle each other just like two human children playing around. It even looks as if a few playful punches are being thrown. There is also some chasing and some grabbing of hair! Their mouths are open but it does not look as if any nasty bites are delivered.

Then, an adult gorilla turns up and the atmosphere changes. The domineering presence of the older and larger gorilla brings the youngsters back in line. It could be their dad, or it could just be one of the other mature adults in the group. The two youngsters slope away looking a bit guilty.

Gorilla Behavior In The Wild

These gorillas were filmed in captivity but we also know a little about how gorillas behave in the wild. Adult gorillas are very strong and can bend an iron bar with just their hands. They have a powerful build with thick chests, wide shoulders and their abdomens are pushed forward. The adults also have long arms and they use these to propel their bodies forward by putting their strong knuckles on the ground. We see the youngsters in this video practicing this skill.

The males are larger than the females and can reach over five feet in height and weigh nearly 500 pounds. Captive gorillas tend to be larger than their relatives who live in the wild. Their main activity takes place during the day when they interact with other group members and look for food. They live in family groups that vary between six and 30 individuals and there is usually one (or perhaps two) adult males who are in charge. If two males are leading the group, this is often a father and son or two brothers. The rest of the group is made up of females and their young. As we see in this video, the younger gorillas instinctively know who is in charge and can behave nicely when they need to!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Asaf Weizman/Shutterstock.com