Though gorillas are large and strong apes, they are gentle animals that rarely attack unless they are provoked. A gorilla typically shows signs of aggressiveness and power before it attacks, and it will only attack if the opponent doesn’t back off.
Gorillas are wild animals, and there are several ways a gorilla can become angry, both intentionally and unintentionally. Some of these remarkable ways can be seen below:
A female mountain gorilla can become angry if you try to do anything with her baby. Female gorillas are always protective of their babies, and if the baby is forcefully taken away from them, they will fight, even if it costs their life.
A silverback gorilla will get angry when any other gorilla, predators, or humans try to tamper with its family. Silverback gorillas always play the role of taking care of their families and will do just about anything to protect them.
Gorillas can also get angry when you make direct eye contact with them. For unknown reasons, they may interpret it as a challenge and start showing signs of charging. Even screaming in the direction of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat can make them angry.
A silverback gorilla can also become angry when another blackback or male gorilla in the group mates with the group females.
This is because only the silverback is supposed to mate with all the females in the group. This often leads to a fight between the two gorillas, which can result in one being chased out of the group.
Though mountain gorillas are shy and gentle, this should not be taken for granted.
Therefore, you should always try to follow the gorilla trekking rules and regulations to avoid making mountain gorillas angry, which can lead to a charge that can cause severe wounds or even death.
Gorillas show their signs of anger by throwing vegetation, making loud hoots, thumping the ground, beating their chests loudly, moving on two legs, and much more.
Once you see such behavior, know that a gorilla is angry, and you must try to imitate some actions that will make the gorilla calm down instead of charging at you.
You will be briefed about this before gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda or Congo.