Drunk Gorilla Punches Photographer Who Captures It On Film

While I’m sure you have many potential problems at your workplace, I’m fairly certain getting punched by a drunk gorilla isn’t one of them. But for at least one photographer it’s a very real threat that now hits a little too close to home for his comfort. Christophe Courteau is a 46-year-old wildlife photographer who was recently in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda taking some photos of the local mountain gorillas. Normally, the gorillas don’t really bother the human visitors, but Courteau was in for an exception during this photography session.

As he was taking pictures of a group of silverback gorillas, the alpha male, named Akarevuro, decided he didn’t want his picture taken and started to charge Courteau. (To be fair, Courteau reports that the gorillas had been eating some fermented bamboo stems which in effect caused them to become slightly “drunk”, which explains some of the behaviors). The gorilla then proceeded to fully knock him to the ground (he was on his knees for the photo), which the photographer likened to a really bad rugby hit.

Thankfully, it turns out that the gorilla didn’t really want to hurt Courteau – he was just asserting his dominance over a female in the group as another male gorilla entered the territory; that is the male he was really after. Courteau just happened to be in the way.

If his new scar wasn’t enough to prove his encounter, his photos should serve to do the trick.

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[Image via Reddit]

SOURCE: Grind TV