The Gorilla Personality

Gorilla Characteristics: Large size • Unpretentious • Fun loving • Adventurous • Gentle • Lazy
Scientific Name: Gorilla gorilla
Collective Term: A band of gorillas 

The Self-effacing Gorilla

Gorillas are strong, unpolished individuals with a gruff exterior that conceals a soft and chewy center. They are capable, happy-go-lucky individuals with a disarming naiveté. Maybe a little hairy with a tattoo or two too, they are unpretentious and engaging creatures who brighten everyone's day with their enthusiastically warm greetings. Drawn to large and eclectic social groups, gorillas have little in the way of vanity, pay little attention to their physical presentation, and can even be a bit of a slob. A gorilla isn’t one to recycle or pick up after itself.

The Gorilla's Intentions can be Deceiving

Even when a gorilla is smiling, there’s an underlying sense of menace that radiates from its personality, and it’s certainly built for physical confrontation. But it's difficult to imagine a gorilla actually inflicting bodily harm. However, if a gorilla or its family is threatened, transgressors quickly realize their mistake. With body hair standing on end, and its large frame at full height, a gorilla is a fearsome sight to behold. If you happen to find yourself in a child-custody battle with a gorilla personality, it's better to negotiate an up-front peace than endure a prolonged and bloody battle.

Gorillas are intelligent but not overly motivated, and when young, avoided all sorts of formalized learning. That’s why, as adults, their intelligence is largely described as “street-smarts”, and they have the kind of raw talent and problem-solving skills that make them excellent mechanics, plumbers or computer troubleshooters. .

The Gorilla's Work Life

Gorillas are unmotivated by money, and will avoid strenuous physical exertion in favor of spending leisure time at play, and because their careers take a backseat to the pursuit of recreation, they rarely reach great heights in business. However, if they're lucky enough to find a job that incorporates fun and physical prowess - such as a personal trainer or professional wrestler - they usually rise to the tops of their field.

Gorillas' appreciation for the good life also puts them in good stead for careers in the service industry, including the hotel and restaurant businesses, and employers seem to appreciate the gorilla's gruff but can-do attitude.

Gorillas in the Wild

Gorillas are the largest of the great apes; weighing up to six hundred pounds. Living in troops consisting of a single adult male and several females, gorillas do not defend a particular territory. When two troops do mingle, they generally ignore one another, and fighting between groups is rare. 

With the exception of man, gorillas have no natural enemies, although leopards have been known to take the occasional youngster. Probably as intelligent as chimpanzees, gorillas are less volatile in their emotional makeup, belying their savage reputation.

Careers & Hobbies

Mechanic • Plumber • Repairperson • Personal trainer • Food Industry • Service industry
Wrestling • Motorcycling • Watching TV • Sports fan

Love & Friendship

Monogamous relationships suit the gorilla's style. They happily honor their mates with fidelity and cooking in return for great backrubs and the occasional haircut.

Gorillas are well suited to animal personalities that complement their laid back lifestyles. This includes the entire canine family -- which includes dogs, foxes, and wolves. Wild dogs in particular appreciate their strong amiable spirits.

An unlikely union with the cottontail proves to be quite enduring... the fluffy personality of the rabbit is enveloped by the gorilla's personality, and the bunny reciprocates with unadulterated adoration and affection. Bird personalities are particularly vexing to the gorilla’s essence. Their raucous ways irritate the gorilla who is far too earth-bound to accept their fickle ways.

Sometimes gorillas find themselves way over their heads in a relationship -- and a heartbroken gorilla is a pitiful sight. Avoiding unions with the snooty sable, standoffish swan or dangerous lion, the gorilla will spare itself the despair that comes from utter rejection, but gorillas are a hardy species and a failed relationship will soon be forgotten. Their high-spirited fellow primate, the baboon, is a natural balm for tough times and these two species love nothing more than hanging out while exchanging texts and massages.

Famous Gorilla Personalities