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Young World
Gorilla warfare
Not just size and strengTh: Also weapons!
As if size and strength were not enough to scare off human intruders, gorillas may have another tactic at their disposal: improvised weapons. Researchers studying western gorillas in Cameroon have documented three cases in which the great apes threw clumps of grass or tree branches at humans. “At first we didn’t think too much of it, but then we realised that this is quite remarkable,” said Jacqueline Sunderland Groves, who established the Wildlife Conservation Society research team working in the area. The observations were made during a three-year ecological study of Cross River gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) on Cameroon’s Kagwene Mountain. Great apes have long been known to use tools. Many studies have shown that wild chimpanzees use a variety of objects, including sticks and rocks, for foraging and other activities. Even the throwing of objects at predators or rivals has been seen before — it is considered one of the six primary types of tool use among primates.
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