When you think of a silverback gorilla, what do you picture?
Although human beings are evolved from primates, many of us have a healthy fear or distance when it comes to great apes like silverback gorillas. Though the DNA of these animals is remarkably close to our own, they are the largest living primates and are much stronger than humans are. While our main impression of these animals is that they are only aggressive, sometimes our first impressions prove false.
One clip from BBC Earth has shown that silverback gorillas are more complex than we might imagine.
The video was filmed in South Africa by a team of BBC Earth cameramen who were following a troupe of gorillas in a series called “Gorilla Family and Me.”
The father of the gorilla family, Chimanuka, is in charge of protecting his entire family—including his vulnerable infants. As the family approaches a busy road, he waits patiently and nervously in the bushes. Because there is so much traffic, the cameramen decide to stop some the traffic themselves to help Chimanuka and his family pass safely.
What happens next is simply incredible.
After seeing that the coast is clear, Chimanuka steps out slowly and confidently stands in the middle of the road.
Slowly but surely, his family proceeds out past him one by one, some of them stopping to steal a look at the people on the street. Once his family has safely passed, however, Chimanuka makes a stand of his own. Instead of just running away, Chimanuka takes his time making eye contact and slowly plodding around the road to let everyone know that he’s still in control of the jungle!
After his point has been made, Chimanuka follows his family deeper into the forest.
This incredible clip is just another reminder of how complex and multi-faceted life on Earth really is.
As technology has expanded and people have moved into cities, we’ve started to lose touch with the natural world around us. Instead of taking time to understand nature, we often think about things in oversimplified ways—or we forget that we’re sharing the planet with many other life forms besides our own. As this clip shows, silverback gorillas can show just as much empathy and love for their families as human beings can! Anyone interested should definitely check out the rest of the program as well.
All the best to Chimanuka and his family!
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