A Columbus Zoo gorilla expert's take on the "1 gorilla vs. 100 men" debate
The internet's latest obsession is a wild hypothetical: 100 unarmed men versus one gorilla, who wins?
Why it matters: It probably doesn't, but nothing brings people together like a wacky online debate. So we asked the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's expert to weigh in.
The big picture: Gorillas live in African rainforests and are the largest primates on Earth. A silverback, a group's dominant male, tops out around 450 pounds.
But they're "gentle giants," making the scenario of a fight even more unimaginable, zoo vice president of animal care and conservation Jan Ramer tells Axios.
"They'll shove and punch or make a big display if their family is threatened, but we'd do the same," says Ramer, a gorilla keeper for many years who worked in Africa with the Gorilla Doctors conservation group.
Case in point: There has never been a documented instance of a gorilla killing a human.
Reality check: Gorillas don't fight people, they fight for their survival. All four gorilla species are endangered (three critically) due to habitat loss, disease and poaching.
That means if you decided to challenge one, there would be serious consequences.
Yes, but: The International Union for Conservation of Nature downlisted mountain gorillas from critically endangered to endangered in 2018 due to increasing numbers.
"That's thanks to the great efforts of over 100 good humans," Ramer says, including the zoo's ongoing support of conservation efforts in Africa.
So, back to the original question: Who would win? Well, it depends on the competition.
What they're saying: "If it's a chess match, the human wins. If it's surviving alone in a forest for 10 years, the gorilla wins. If it's tug-of-war, I think the 100 men are probably going to win," Ramer says.
"Pure strength? One-on-one, the gorilla is going to win, hands down."
But a gorilla being so outnumbered makes the hypothetical a little more complicated.
The bottom line: "Instead of 100 men versus a gorilla, let's talk about how much 100 men could do to help a gorilla continue to thrive in its natural habitat," Ramer suggests.
Colo's legacy at the Columbus Zoo
The Columbus Zoo has quite a reputation in the zoological world for its gorilla care.
Flashback: The zoo was home to the first gorilla born in captivity, the world-famous Colo, in 1956.
She was born prematurely at about 4 pounds and spent time in an incubator from a local hospital.
Keepers hand-raised her "as we would a human baby," per news stories at the time, including dressing her in diapers and clothes and feeding her baby formula. (Today, they prioritize a more natural approach.)
Colo died in 2017 at age 60, after making history again as the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time.
The latest: Today, Colo has a long lineage living in Columbus and zoos across the country: three children, 14 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, per zoo records.
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