Gorillas and Humans

Gorillas and Humans

The interactions between humans and gorillas are quite interesting. There are early writings in history that aren’t clear. There are stories about interactions with hairy humans that don’t talk. That has lead many researchers to believe what they came across weren’t people but actually gorillas in the wild. Since there aren’t any pictures to go with these writings though it can’t be known for sure.

Many people definitely have the wrong impression of gorillas and that is too bad. They watch movies where gorillas are destroying everything in their paths so the assumption is that they are aggressive. Yet these are very calm animals unless they feel their troop is in danger. Anyone that has had the opportunity to view them in their natural habitat has had an experience they will never forget.

A common problem with the people in Africa and gorillas though is that they are fighting for the same areas. The people continue to expand into the territory which the gorillas once were using for food and shelter. They are fighting for some of the same food sources too including the fruits and berries that grow. When these people are low on their food sources they will eat meat from the gorillas as a way to survive.

However, not all of the gorillas out there are killed as a way for others to survive. In many instances it comes down to there being a thrill in hunting such a large animal. They don’t want to hunt the females or the young; they want the silverbacks that are very large. They want to kill these animals as a trophy of the sport and nothing more.

There are some fascinating stories too of gorillas helping humans. One of them is about a young child that fell into the living quarters of gorillas at a zoo. One of the gorillas kicked up the child and kept it safe until people could come in and get it. The news media showed views of this over and over again and it was a great way for these animals to get some positive exposure.

There is no denying that gorillas are very charismatic, and they can charm people very easily. Seeing a huge silverback gorilla interact with a baby is enough to melt the heart of anyone that has always thought of these animals as being monsters. However, it is very important to remember that gorillas are still wild animals. They can be harmful if they feel that they are in danger.

Some people think it is fun and that it is cute to have a baby gorilla as a pet. Most of the time people have them in their homes illegally due to laws that prevent this. As the gorilla gets older though they become harder to take care of due to their size and their strength. It is important to remember that these animals aren’t going to stay small for too long.

Most people love video games, and who can forget the hours they spent playing Donkey Kong with one of the world’s most famous gorillas on the screen? While there are still plenty of versions of this video game out there none have come close to selling like the original did.