Apparently today, all over the internet, there are people arguing whether we men—we humans—could fight a grown gorilla. I have no idea how this debate started, but I find it hilarious that people are even having it.
The point is that we tend to think of ourselves as the superior species a little too much. Yes, it’s obvious we’re the brightest creatures on this globe (although even that’s debated), but there’s absolutely no indication we made it to the top of the pyramid through physical prowess.
In fact, we know that, comparatively, we are magnitudes weaker than modern-day primates. A chimpanzee, although smaller in mass and size, is so strong we can’t even imagine what it would feel like to possess that kind of power.
To me, this debate illustrates a ridiculous sense of misplaced confidence. The idea that there are men out there who would be willing to battle a silverback gorilla because they think they stand a chance—it’s hilarious.
Not even the strongest punch or kick a human could muster would bother the gorilla much. Honestly, I’m willing to say that the best a man could do against a silverback is make it angrier.
There’s a video somewhere—shouldn’t be too hard to find—where a girl playfully begins pounding her chest, imitating the gorillas at the zoo. Who knows what that gesture means in gorilla language, but one of them didn’t like it. It launched itself at the bulletproof glass and cracked it with one blow.
The debate has since evolved. It seems the initial ridiculous idea—that one man stood a chance—is now only held by a very small and confident few. So now they’re proposing 100 men vs. a gorilla, to even the odds.
Simulations have been made for this epic battle, and I can’t stop laughing. They still think there’s a way to take down a full-grown gorilla barehanded.
I wonder what Darwin would write in his notebook now...
MenO