A zoologist named Caleb provided a detailed explanation of why a group of one hundred people would likely defeat a gorilla without significant issues in a hypothetical confrontation. He shared his opinion on social media platform X, joining the discussion sparked by the popular YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson.
Caleb immediately clarified that he is not a practicing primatologist; his work primarily involves other animals like bears, antelopes, birds, and bats. However, he studied apes during his university training, which gives him some competence to answer the question.
I`m confident that most people radically overestimate a gorilla`s size, strength, intelligence, endurance, and aggression.
Don`t get me wrong, they are incredibly strong animals, but the discussions suggesting a grizzly bear could handle a gorilla are simply laughable.
On average, an adult male gorilla weighs 300-400 pounds [136-181 kg], with a maximum of nearly 600 pounds [272 kg]. He is enormous by any standard and four to five times stronger than the average trained man. So there would definitely be casualties, but the gorilla`s strength would not be enough to simply tear all attackers apart before several guys could grab its limbs and hold it in place. And in that case, the animal would likely quickly tire out, unlike humans, who have developed their endurance at the expense of strength. Many apes, in contrast, have retained immense power.
A tired gorilla would have trouble fighting even seven people, let alone dozens. I think 30-40 people would be enough to handle an average male gorilla. And that`s assuming it develops a bloodlust and doesn`t simply run away from a large group of aggressors, as most animals do (except for elephants and hippos).
The discussion about the potential outcome of a hundred people confronting a single gorilla gained traction online thanks to MrBeast`s tweet, where he humorously suggested testing such a scenario for a video.