Gorillas are one of the strongest animals in all of existence. They rule over the animal kingdom as well as their natural habitat. This means that they are pretty far away from the hunting grounds of other animals that are considered some of the most powerful in the wild.
Because of their command in the wild and the fact that they’re one of the strongest animals in the kingdom, gorillas do not have any natural predators that are set out to hurt them. However, they may have potential predators that may set out to harm them. Examples of these include leopards and humans who do tend to hunt down gorillas in some capacity.
Potential Predators
While gorillas do not have any predators, they have some potential threats to their lives that must be considered when looking at their safety within the animal kingdom. Let’s look more into these predators.
Leopards
Leopards hunt for meat as their primary source of sustenance. This means that gorillas fall in their line of sight as well. The way they do this is they look for unsuspecting gorillas and they target them for their meal time. However, it is important for one single leopard to take down a gorilla as it is quite big in size and one of the strongest mammals in the animal kingdom.
Therefore, once they’ve tracked down a gorilla they’d like to hunt, they send out a call for others in their pack so they can kill the prey together. Without forming a group, the gorilla would escape easily. There are a few benefits a leopard holds over a gorilla. Leopards are extremely fast creatures and they are also able to swiftly climb trees.
Their climbing abilities prove to be a particularly useful tool since gorillas often nest amongst trees. Leopards tend to focus on younger gorillas instead of adult males as they are more powerful and skilled. They could easily escape the leopards and perhaps even cause them harm.
Crocodiles
Crocodiles are a lesser known threat to gorillas. This is perhaps because they rarely get to come into contact with gorillas. A reason for this is the fact that gorillas rarely drink water and crocodiles are mostly only found around large water bodies. However, just because it is a rare occurrence doesn’t mean it does not happen.
Crocodiles often attack gorillas while they drink water or when they walk near swamp areas. Gorillas have a high chance of getting out of these attacks without dying on sight. However, due to there being open wounds around bodies of water, the potential for the wounds to get infected is very high. This is the leading cause for gorillas dying after crocodile attacks.
Humans
One of the most serious threats against the lives of gorillas is humans. While leopards and crocodiles do affect gorillas and their population, nothing has a higher and more damaging impact on their livelihood as human beings do. Humans hunt gorillas for selfish gains, such as trading them or killing them for their meat and/or other parts of their bodies.
Not only this, but humans also attack and destroy their natural habitats. All of these actions result in the fact that, now, gorillas are rapidly approaching the extinction rate. This will mean that, within a few years, there will be little to no chance of finding any living gorillas. And for those that might perhaps survive, they’d have no homes to stay in and take shelter.
How Gorillas Avoid Threats
In case they are faced with a potential threat, the gorillas act in a very interesting way to avoid being attacked. They do so by letting out special sounds and emitting a strong odor. This is done by the silverback males and helps them reach out to other gorillas that surround them. These gorillas position themselves between the attacker and the prey in order to protect it.
This is one of the main jobs of male gorillas. It is usually the younger males that take this task onto themselves and face their predators head on. Not only do they meticulously carry the prey away from the danger zone but they also attack the enemy in the process.
This method of community protection allowed gorillas to escape the hands of their predators and stay safe from their potential enemies.
Why Are Gorillas not Preyed On?
There are multiple reasons for why gorillas are not preyed upon by other animals. Here are a few of the reasons.
Habitats: Gorillas tend to stay in mountainous areas of high altitude which is often not suited for most animals. Other animals cannot survive in these conditions
Size: Gorillas on average weigh around 400 pounds. Their huge size makes them a tough target for lone prey as they would never be able to successfully take on them.
Social Life: Since gorillas are largely social creatures, they are, at all times, in group settings. This makes it hard for animals to prey on them unless one wanders away from the group and into the clutches of the predator.
Fighting Technique: Gorillas are known for their violent fighting techniques in the face of their prey. If the gorilla is able to protect itself, it will do so by trampling its enemy to death. Not only does this kill the predator, but it also sends out a message to other predators that they should be feared for their fierce fighting skills.
Conclusion
While gorillas do not have any natural predators, they do have potential predators that could harm or perhaps even kill them. These include leopards and crocodiles who aren’t guaranteed to cause major harm but still do cause significant damage. Humans, however, are the biggest threat to gorillas. They are the reason gorillas are going extinct and soon their habitats will be destroyed completely.
