Escaped Gorilla

[ppkheat]

Admittedly I haven't thought about this scenario very much, well actually I haven't thought about it at all. So you are at the zoo and a gorilla escapes, and he's a short distance away from you, looking you in the eye and beating his chest. What do you do?

Here is a real story today of this actually happening:

Gorilla Injures 1 During Escape at Zoo

COLUMBIA, S.C. (June 12) - A 390-pound gorilla grabbed some low-hanging bamboo to scale a wall at a South Carolina zoo Friday, escaping his enclosure and tackling a worker before returning to his pen about five minutes later.

The gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens ran into a pizza-stand employee who curled up and played dead to try to avoid further injuries, officials said. The man, who works for Aramark Corp., was taken to a hospital and released a short time later with cuts and bruises.

Zoo executive director Satch Krantz said the worker heard a strange sound, saw the gorilla outside the enclosure and turned to run.
"Then the gorilla did what gorillas do," he said.
The animal quickly closed the 30-foot gap between them and knocked the worker down.

Witness Juanita McAllister Caldwell told WLTX-TV that the gorilla was looking into her eyes as he stood just six feet away from her. "Pounding on his chest and hollering just as you know in one of those King Kong movies," she said. While others around her ran, she stood still. Shortly afterward, the gorilla went over another wall and back into his enclosure. "By then, the gorilla realized he was probably somewhere he shouldn't have been and wanted to go home," Krantz said.

The culprit is believed to be a 16-year-old western lowland gorilla named Mike, though zoo officials said they didn't know for certain. Three gorillas are in the exhibit.

Krantz praised the worker for doing the right thing. Neither he nor the company would identify the man. Zoo officials said they were alerted to the escape by a bird-keeper who heard the commotion and the gorilla pounding on his own chest. About 340 people were ushered to indoor exhibits or outside the gates for about 45 minutes after the gorilla escaped, zoo officials said. Krantz said employees reacted by the book and "it was an excellent job of preventing a more serious situation."

The gorilla got out about a half-hour after the zoo's 9 a.m. opening. He returned to the gated sleeping area connected to his outdoor enclosure, which is separated from the public by different barriers in different spots, including mesh and plexiglass. A second gorilla, 15-year-old Kimya, also went inside the sleeping area after the escapee returned. It took another 40 minutes for workers to coax the zoo's oldest gorilla, 24-year-old Chaka, into the sleeping area.

Animal keepers patrol each enclosure every morning before opening the zoo and nothing looked out of the ordinary in the exhibit, Krantz said.

Officials believe a powerful rainstorm Thursday night swept a clump of bamboo over the top of the enclosure wall. Krantz showed reporters photos of a zoo worker using the slim bamboo reed to climb the wall and images of gorilla footprints on the wall.
"We learned something today," he said. Krantz said zoo officials will check vegetation around exhibits to prevent further escapes. He said he thought the gorillas would be kept penned up — and not allowed into their outside enclosure — until at least next week.

Officials said the zoo's only other escape by a dangerous animal was in 1974, shortly after it opened, when a polar bear got out because of a worker's mistake. It was quickly recaptured.

Would the offending gorilla face punishment? "We might not give him his snack tonight," Krantz said.

A few things come to mind about this for me:
1. This is similar to suddenly encountering a bear in the wild.
2. Remember the police recently shot that chimp that attacked the woman, he didn't drop, he ran off to die. Obviously gorillas are stouter than chimps.
3. I think you are at the mercy of the gorilla pretty much, hopefully you didn't tease him in the past.
4. Ideas on what to do to survive, and I'm not a gorilla expert. I'm thinking though, don't look at him in the eyes or appear threatening, move away slowly. If CCW I'd have my gun in my hand, though still try to move away safely, consider gun for last ditch survival option. I'm wondering how much affect the sound of the gunfire would have on the gorilla. Would he retreat or become enraged?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[AFVet1982]

Some of the following will sound really stupid when you read it, but please bear with me on this.

I'm neither an expert on the great apes and related species, nor did I sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night , but if it were me, I'd try to keep still as the woman did, not make any noise, and literally keep my mouth shut. Reason for that last part is that a number of primates show aggression by showing their teeth. If anybody's skeptical about that, bring a relative with dentures to the monkey house at your local zoo and have them stick their false teeth out at the apes. The monkeys will probably bare their teeth, hiss, and make similar aggressive acts. My brother-in-law did this at the zoo here in Omaha, and that's the response he got. If you can do this and stay out of the fecal impact zone, so much the better. (No, we didn't get any poo tossed at us)

As far as being able to use a firearm in self-defense, I don't think that's a practical consideration for a number of reasons, mainly the quickness with which some animals can move, their greater strength, as well as the clear danger you'd present to other bystanders.

I think if you just try to present yourself as non-threatening, you'd have a decent chance of not further provoking the animal. Just my opinion (except for the teeth part above -- that's a fact! ), your mileage may vary.

[tiwee]

I am pretty sure that if I ran into a 390 pound gorilla, I would crap my pants. Maybe that would keep him away.

[retsupt99]

If you spot the escapee and can head in the other direction...go quickly and quietly.
If cornered, play dead, wear brown pants.
Shooting a 400lb ape with anything less than a tank shell isn't going to go well for the shooter.

[matiki]

I didn't realize this thread isn't about me.

[InspectorGadget]

I figure it like this, if a 380lb bear can survive multiple .44mag rounds then gorillas can probably too, add the fact that a gorilla is more nimble and faster than a bear at close range makes it a bad situation all around. A calm gorilla is better than a pissed off one with a grudge at the person that just hurt it. Or a ships 5in HE round........

[Thumper]

What do you do?

Before or after I soil myself?

[ppkheat]

I would crap my pants

If cornered, play dead, wear brown pants

Before or after I soil myself?

Honest answers ! Apparently our concern and color of our wardrobe is our most realistic reaction ........and I agree

[Orange Boy]

I imagine you would need a high powered rifle to stop a 390 lb gorilla. Handgun would just tick him off (and may kill him eventually) but you would be toast way before that.

[paramedic70002]

Gorillas are not bears that eat bananas. Bears are hard to kill because of their thick layers over therr organs, and thick skull.

I would think that apes would respond similarly to obese or muscular humans. Would definitely try for a brain shot if necessary.

[Rayman]

Gorillas are not bears that eat bananas. Bears are hard to kill because of their thick layers over therr organs, and thick skull.

I would think that apes would respond similarly to obese or muscular humans. Would definitely try for a brain shot if necessary.

Good luck.

[Arko]

Good luck.

Good luck with THAT too!

[HKinNY]

Dont think double tap COM and 1 head shot is going to cut it this time. I know playing dead works with bears but gorillas? I guess if I was in that situtation I would be remembered as the Gorilla date with the soiled pants too. Maybe toss a few in his direction.

[SleepingZ]

Now do I not only have to carry doggy biscuits, I have to carry bananas (and toilet paper)


Z

[IronMike]

Stand my ground, beat my cheast,roar at the top of lungs...anything to convince him I also am a MALE!