A zoologist named Caleb has provided a detailed explanation of why he believes one hundred humans could relatively easily defeat a single gorilla. He shared his perspective on social media platform X, joining a wider discussion initially sparked by YouTube`s most popular creator, Jimmy `MrBeast` Donaldson.
Caleb prefaced his comments by noting that he is not a practicing primatologist and his primary work involves animals like bears, antelopes, birds, and bats. However, he did study apes during his university education, which he feels gives him sufficient background knowledge to address the hypothetical question.
Here is Caleb`s assessment:
“I`m confident most people drastically overestimate the size, strength, intelligence, stamina, and aggressiveness of a gorilla. Don`t get me wrong, they are incredibly strong animals, but the fact that people are discussing whether a grizzly bear could handle a gorilla is just ridiculous.
On average, an adult male gorilla weighs 300-400 pounds [136-181 kg], with a maximum of almost 600 pounds [272 kg]. It is huge by any measure and four to five times stronger than an average man who trains. So, there would definitely be losses, but the gorilla`s strength wouldn`t be enough to simply tear all attackers apart before enough guys could grab its limbs and hold it down. In that scenario, the animal would likely tire quickly, unlike humans, who have evolved endurance at the expense of strength. Many apes, conversely, have retained their power.
A tired gorilla would struggle even against seven people, let alone dozens. I think 30-40 people would be sufficient to handle an average male gorilla. And that`s assuming it enters a blood rage and doesn`t flee from a large group of aggressors, as most animals do (except elephants and hippos).”
The online debate regarding the outcome of a confrontation between a hundred people and one gorilla gained significant traction online. It was fueled by a humorous tweet from MrBeast, who jokingly suggested testing such a scenario in one of his popular videos.
Finley Holt