SMILED AT A GORILLA AND GOT ATTACKED? THE 2007 INCIDENT THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
GREATRIBUNETVNEWS– “In 2007, a massive silverback escaped his zoo enclosure, bypassed a panicked crowd, and violently attacked one specific woman. Her only provocation? She had smiled at him.”
Gorillas are known as gentle giants — but one smile changed everything.
The True Nature Of Gorillas:
“Despite their fearsome depiction in pop culture, gorillas are deeply peaceful vegetarians. Unprovoked attacks on humans are virtually nonexistent.”
What Triggers An Attack:
> “When a gorilla charges, it is almost always a defensive response to a perceived challenge or a threat to their family group, often stemming from a fundamental mismatch in primate body language.”
To a gorilla, prolonged direct eye contact is a hostile challenge for dominance. Baring teeth—which humans do when smiling—is a severe display of aggression. Sudden movements or turning to run away can also trigger an instinctual pursuit reflex.
A close-up of Bokito, the western lowland gorilla involved in the 2007 Rotterdam Zoo incident, displaying a direct stare. Photo by Ronald van der Graaf is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The incident at the Rotterdam Zoo remains the most famous demonstration of these triggers. The woman believed she had a special bond with the silverback, named Bokito, visiting him almost daily to smile and maintain intense eye contact. From Bokito’s perspective, she was issuing a persistent, daily challenge. He eventually scaled a water-filled moat to reach her, dragging her into a nearby restaurant and leaving her with severe bite wounds and fractures.
In the wild, dangerous encounters usually involve poachers or trackers who accidentally surprise a silverback in thick brush. Even when deeply agitated, a silverback prefers to resolve conflicts without physical contact. They typically execute a bluff charge, rushing at the intruder while screaming, tearing foliage, and beating their chests, only to stop mere feet away. The safest human response to this terrifying display is to crouch down, look at the ground, and remain completely still, signaling submission and immediately de-escalating the conflict.
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