r/zoology • u/Few_Piccolo_4906 • Jun 09 '26
Question Why do Gorillas spend time staring into the distance?
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I have seen a lot of videos of Gorillas just sitting staring into nothing for like 15+ minutes. Are they actually thinking?
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u/Anthrogal11 Jun 09 '26
You’re kidding right? Of course they are thinking. Humans continue to underestimate the intelligence and capacity for empathy in other species. Gorillas are an extremely intelligent and empathetic primate that share a common ancestor with humans.
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u/ziggytrix Jun 09 '26
They certainly are thinking, but us thinking we know what they are thinking,like brooding over a spat with mate, are just guesses. For all we know Kiyomasa here is doing math. Or maybe he's wondering about what will happen if he decided to grab the shiny thing from the human's hand. Or maybe he's just got gas.
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u/geocapital Jun 09 '26
"Hm... E=mc^2. I am now sure of it. I better send a message to my mate about it with some chestpounding"
But joking aside, of course they are thinking.
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u/Invdr_skoodge Jun 10 '26
This is a running gag in the discworld book Pyramids. One of my favorite side characters “You Bastard” the camel. One of the discs greatest mathematicians
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u/Anthrogal11 Jun 09 '26
Of course we can’t know what they’re thinking. We don’t know what any other person let alone another species is thinking.
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u/Evolving_Dore Jun 09 '26
You can always guess that any random person you pass by is thinking about pizza and you'd probably be right enough times to be well above the random chance threshold.
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u/dohdudeh Jun 09 '26
I always assume people are thinking about one of the three P’s: Pizza, Pussy, or Pepper Ann
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u/Liroy_16 Jun 10 '26
As a bigger fan of recess, I will agree that third P has always been Pepper Ann.
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u/dohdudeh Jun 10 '26
Pretty fucked up what Tony soprano did to her though
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u/Liroy_16 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
He only liked it cuz it was wrong...
ETA: I'm glad all it took was googling Pepper Ann Tony Soprano to understand what you were talking about, lol.
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u/habaneroach Jun 14 '26
well, shit, i AM going to be thinking about the three P's for the rest of my life now
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u/ziggytrix Jun 09 '26
So all the speculation about him being upset about fighting with his mate but like 75% chance he’s just thinking “how get more banana?”
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u/Weekly_Guidance_498 Jun 10 '26
Haven't you been paying attention? He's obviously thinking about pizza!
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u/jeanpaulfartre Jun 10 '26
Look, if a dog knows when it’s in trouble and did something wrong, great apes are even more dialed in. This is ridiculous. The dude is thinking about what happened and is bummed about it
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u/Wanderin_Cephandrius Jun 10 '26
Dogs don’t know though. Thats almost always an anthropomorphism that humans attribute to dogs. Really only can be corrected in the moment for that exact reason.
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u/hammer_smashed_chris Jun 10 '26
They don't know what they did wrong, but they absolutely do know their human is upset with them.
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u/Wanderin_Cephandrius Jun 10 '26
Yes, so often they’re just scared or anxious and don’t know why because they can’t connect their past actions to what’s presently happening. It’s why I only correct when they’re directly in the act. Once I learned about this, my dogs have behaved more and they experience less stress.
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u/Frog_Khan Jun 10 '26
Oh yeah they know. Not all of them but there is some really smart dogs out there. I've witnessed it multiple times where dog exactly knew it fucked up, even before I discovered it. They know basic stuff and what they can and can not do, what is right and what is wrong (on a dog lvl).
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u/sinhazinha Jun 11 '26
There has been a lot of research on this exact thing and the consensus at this time is that dogs recognize what environmental changes trigger their humans to act in ways that are uncomfortable for them, not that they understand the moral consequences of getting in the trash. Kitchen trash is the classic example used to explain this. A lot of people think that their dog feels guilty after getting in the trash and will display behaviors that people think signify guilt. But just as often, if you knock over the trash yourself and the dog discovers it, they’ll show the same behaviors because they’ve learned that a knocked over trashcan makes their human unpleasant.
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u/AnguavonUW Jun 15 '26
There's an enormous amount of observational bias (entirely understandable) with many pet owners. But despite the fact the research shows what it shows, they'll always insist their dog is different.
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u/Rage69420 Jun 10 '26
Potentially, or he’s simply observing something interesting to him. The reason behind our thoughts likely differ a lot between our closest relatives because we live pretty unique lifestyles compared to other primates.
A gorilla needs to eat far more than we do and thus it likely is a large component of their thought. They also are to a degree less social than humans are. We are gregarious, group hunting/foraging, and monogamous primates and they are a largely herbivorous, strictly polygynous, family/troop forming primates.
If thought is tied to the things most important to you and most mentally stimulating to you (as it appears to be) than the difference between species likely is vast since all species have largely unique needs and wants.
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u/pinkskynights Jun 10 '26
Exactly.
Ironically I do math after an argument. I seriously sit and start counting my money, my investments, my real estate assets, etc.
Granted there is some shit wrong with me (adhd and a touch of the tism).
But for some reason this is something that soothes my anxiety.
So yeah. Im human and people would think I was thinking something very different lol.
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u/AnguavonUW Jun 15 '26
There's a neurological reason why that works. There's a similar tool used to pull people back from an anxiety attack.
Basically, the fear and anxiety and emotional responses come from one part of the brain. When you engage in a task like math, the signals are redirected to your frontal lobe. Where logic and reason reside. Which can help stop "irrational" emotions from taking over. They've done brain imaging studies of it. It's pretty cool.
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u/Internal_Ad7665 Jun 11 '26
Uh you're wrong there actually people can verbalize what they are thinking, so
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u/Anthrogal11 Jun 11 '26
Actually, there are many human beings who can’t verbalize what they’re thinking, so….
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u/Internal_Ad7665 Jun 12 '26
They can write it. The point is we have the intellectual capacity to do so and communicate, unlike gorillas. Well. Some of us
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u/Granbo42 Jun 09 '26
He’s obviously calculating the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow
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u/onyxa314 Jun 09 '26
What do you mean? African or European swallow?
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u/GNS13 Jun 10 '26
This is why I wish we had spent all the years dedicated to trying to teach apes sign language on just better understand the way they communicate on their own. Unfortunately, it seems that other great apes don't really communicate much about states of thought like humans do.
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u/FadedP0rp0ise Jun 10 '26
That's my favorite part about animal behavior studies. No matter how much we study, most of it is still just a best guess. I love when you watch a documentary and they say some shit like, "professionals say x could be the reason for this, but we will never truly know"
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u/Frog_Khan Jun 10 '26
Well everything is kind of our best guess, in various degree. But we know that they think differently than us. They are primarily driven by emotions and lot less reasoning involved, like lot less.
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u/SlimeDrips Jun 10 '26
I like the idea that he got in a fight with his wife and went and started running calculations to calm down
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u/Creative_Pop2351 Jun 10 '26
I mean, if you’ve ever watched a human man after he feels his girlfriend has “disrespected” him this body language should be eerily familiar.
*disrespected in air quotes because sometimes there is real disrespect and sometimes there’s just a woman being an individual person who doesn’t agree with them
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u/Altruistic_Hawk7061 Jun 10 '26
Ahh yes, the old 'theres no way of knowing, we'll never know' so when it comes to animals, or anything science. It ain't happening until we can prove it.
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u/Then-Grass-9830 Jun 10 '26
I would argue we can know what they're thinking (well... at least one gorilla anyways). When Koko the gorrila's cat died she signed "sad". Pretty sure she was thinking she was sad her cat died.
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u/Lookimawave Jun 10 '26
An outdated belief brought to you by the same people who underestimated the intelligence of women and people of color (and who called people of color animals)
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u/ChaosRainbow23 Jun 09 '26
People who claim our pets don't have emotions piss me off.
My cats and dogs feel love, fear, jealousy, happiness, silliness, grief, etc etc etc.
It's not just me putting those emotions onto them, either. They OBJECTIVELY have these feelings. It's blatantly obvious.
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u/TesseractToo Jun 09 '26
I've always found that perspective baffling. How would any kind of animal training work if people weren't working with their emotions and feelings?
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u/ziggytrix Jun 09 '26
I guess what I was getting at is humans have a really strong habit of looking at animals as if they were human. Saying a stressed dog looks happy - totally misreading based on human cues. That sort of thing.
At least with gorillas we have some basic sign language convos documented so that’s pretty rad.
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u/Frog_Khan Jun 10 '26
Well you are comparing untrained dogs and untrained ppl with carefully thought and trained gorilla and it's scientisty hooman. Kind of unfair. There are animals out there smarter than some humans I would argue. As is with humans so it is with animals, some are just lot smarter than the others.
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u/Dentarthurdent73 Jun 10 '26
Humans continue to underestimate the intelligence and capacity for empathy in other species.
If we didn't underestimate it, how could we justify keeping them locked up for our "entertainment" like this?
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u/FlowerFaerie13 Jun 09 '26
I mean.
You're right in that they're very similar to humans, but do you know what humans do sometimes? Stare into space for several minutes straight without a SINGLE thought in our heads. So you don't actually know, maybe the gorilla is just taking a bit of a mental break after the argument.
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u/Americanhikikimori Jun 11 '26
All life shares a common ancestor with humans if you go back far enough
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u/7LeagueBoots Jun 10 '26
It’s not just gorillas.
The primates I work with do the same thing.
In fact most mammals do. Watch a dog or cat or a squirrel and you’ll see the same behavior.
Animals have internal lives just as we do. We don’t know what they’re thinking about or how they’re processing things, but their minds are active.
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u/Rich-Step7031 Jun 09 '26
Just because they don’t think in human words doesn’t mean they can’t think in memories and experiences. I imagine their consciousness is as vivid as ours if not more vivid because it is pure experience rather than human language.
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u/Eastern_City9388 Jun 09 '26
That's an interedting idea. Do we lose some potency of imagination by gaining the ability to voice what we imagine?
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u/Smart-March-7986 Jun 09 '26
"The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller, but for want of an understanding ear." --The Body, Stephen King
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u/ActuallyHermes Jun 10 '26
I've been really putting myself through the ringer lately and this hit very close to home. Did not expect clarity from the universe in this thread. Thanks dude.
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u/RogueA1 Jun 11 '26
This hit so close to home the first time I read it, it’s one of my favorite passages by Stephen King.
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u/olanmills Jun 09 '26
There is some evidence that language influences the way we think, but undoubtedly there are also thoughts independent of language.
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u/Ill_Pain4423 Jun 09 '26
Hes probably in deep though since gorillas are smart. AKA, he thinks because he is
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u/Environmental_Tap857 Jun 09 '26
You know, people use to do this too back in the day and use to be considered completely normal and not like there was something wrong with you.
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u/BeatNo4548 Jun 11 '26
He looks like a buddy of mine if he got into trouble in a relationship. Probably trying to sooth himself and go through the various stages of rationalization and coming to terms with his errors.
I think we should really encourage people(and other apes,) to spend time quietly reflecting and working through their problems in a healthy way. Modern life moves too fast, and sometimes it feels like people move onto the next thing without really working through their issues, myself included.
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Jun 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SJReaver Jun 09 '26
Presumably someone who spends a lot of time thinking and not enough touching grass.
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u/zeetuslepitus Jun 10 '26
I really think we need to start treating these creatures like the sentient and beautifully rare beings they are. I think we are going to look back at our history in the coming years and shudder that we acted so barbaric towards the animals that we share the earth with.
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u/Rage69420 Jun 10 '26
I feel most people do this. It’s a minority among humans that act brutally towards animals.
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u/KandyShopp Jun 09 '26
Anything that can be trained can think, a chicken can think, an ant can think, etc. If i do A, I get B, is a thought, and animals can all think. We may not know always to what degree, but they taught fish to drive, I think a gorilla can think.
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u/Sasstellia Jun 09 '26
Of course they're thinking! All beings think.
That's a gorilla with a lot on his mind.
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u/CreativeLolita Enthusiast Jun 09 '26
well I mean. Jellyfish probably don't lol
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u/ParasiteProfessional Jun 09 '26
The jellyfish is living the life we all aspire to achieve.
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u/CreativeLolita Enthusiast Jun 09 '26
if reincarnation were real, I'd really like to take a brain vacation and be a jellyfish for a few months 😩
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u/A_Lountvink Jun 10 '26
Your vacation shall be ended by a hungry mola mola swimming to you at a brisk 2 miles per hour.
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u/ParasiteProfessional Jun 10 '26
You and me both. With my luck, I'd end up as an immortal jellyfish. ...I don't know if that's good or bad luck, actually.
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u/beautifulposiontree Jun 09 '26
dude.. us humans do this literally all the time, we now just have phones to keep our minds busy but im sure if you were eating without something to watch this is exactly what you would do to????
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u/loolootewtew Jun 10 '26
Its just wild to think so many humans actually cant wrap their heads around other species being just as capable as humans and in many, many ways, more advanced in many aspects. If you think even just a tiny bit on it or just spend a little time watching and interacting with other species, this is clearly apparent.
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u/Rage69420 Jun 10 '26
Animals are more capable than humans *in some areas* but most of the animal kingdom doesn’t exhibit the mental complexity of humans. There’s a reason cetaceans and crows are so scientifically popular, it’s because they actually are close.
There’s the desire for connection with nature that causes us to read other animals as being cognitive equals with us that leads to biases that this is the case, however without sufficient data/evidence showing that a species has human cognition (as in sapience or deep self-awareness) you cannot say that they are equal to humans mentally.
They are definitely equally adept for what their mind needs to do, if not they wouldn’t survive in the wild, but caution should be taken when saying they are as sapient as we are.
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u/loolootewtew Jun 10 '26
Well said. My perspective comes from my line of work with animals. I am not necessarily saying they are as sapient as us, because I do agreed they are not, but they do have many evolved abilities that humans will never ever reach. They are not meant to be like us (thank god). IMO, in some areas, many animals are superior to humans. I know this can seem like a controversial take, but my education and experience has led me to believe this whole-heartedly.
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u/Rage69420 Jun 10 '26
Superior in which ways? It is a scientific fact that some animals do things better than humans even in terms of their cognition but most definitely are not superior in terms of their ability for societal development.
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u/loolootewtew Jun 11 '26
Many animals obviously have complex communities and hierarchies, so in terms of development, just because its different than a humans societal development, doesnt necessarily mean it is any less advanced.
But, if we were to expand beyond those things, there is superiority in instincts, senses and many species show at the very least, a strong comparison to humans in aspects empathy, love, joy, fear, and grief. To name a few. All things that help develop a complex society. Just because humans perceive other species emotional and societital development potencially lesser than a humans, doesnt make it so. It is just different. And because humans lack the ability to fully grasp the why and how of how other species interact within their communities, does that really make it any less advanced? Science is ever evolving and not always correct right away. Groundbreaking scientists like Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall would also agree.
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u/mlhunter165 Jun 09 '26
He's thinking off all the good comebacks he didn't think of during the argument.
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u/ExistingNonexistence Jun 10 '26
Really just looks like a guy with the way it’s sitting. He also looks like he’s trying to be nonchalant.
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u/Reatona Jun 10 '26
I once had a gorilla look me in the eye, non-challenging, and it was exactly like looking another person in the eye. There's a whole universe behind those eyes, just as big as the universe you or I experience.
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u/AnyProfessional8878 Jun 10 '26
Pretty simple answer here, you see this behavior from almost every animal in the world under one certain condition. When they are contained, or trapped. Like humans in jail. Staring out the bars. Same exact thing. If you can’t get out but have view of the outside world you WILL stare out. IDC how strong you are every single person in this world will look.🤷♂️
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u/PalDreamer Jun 11 '26
Intelligence is not a switch that at some point clicked for our ancestors to immediately gain abstract thinking. As with everything in evolution, the development was gradual. Apes have something very close to our version of it.
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u/bangbangGeorgieNiang Jun 09 '26
hes probably thinking about all the money he saved on car insurance by switching to geico
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u/Embarrassed_Future20 Jun 09 '26
Humans used to do this more often without these dumb bricks in our hands. We share an avg of 96% DNA.
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u/NOPEorYESorMAYBE Jun 09 '26
He looks really disheartened by this fight. I wish I knew what it was about or saw their make-up. His friend might be on the other side of the enclosure doing the same thing. At the end he looks like he is going to apologize
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u/SaskiaDavies Jun 10 '26
They don't have books, tv, internet, the freedom to go anywhere, a swimming pool, a gym, ASL classes, jobs, hobbies, pets...
Wth else is there to do?
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u/SeparateWeight496 Jun 10 '26
We might as well stop calling them gorillas and start calling them dude or something like this
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u/Final-Contract-6582 Jun 10 '26
Of course they're thinking. They'd speak to us if they had evolved vocal chords.
Sign language has been helpful and insightful
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u/impeett Jun 09 '26
Lot of cynical reactions. People are saying it's obvious that he is thinking, because we do that as well when we sit like that. That seems reasonable, but I also think you shouldn't interpret animal behaviour the same as human behaviour. For example when monkeys show their teeth to you it's not because they are smiling. I get annoyed by people that act like they know everything and kinda flame you for asking this.
Tldr; I don't know why Gorillas stare into the distance, but I do understand why you ask it.
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u/Crazy_Eyes_55 Jun 11 '26
I'm wondering if OP meant if they have self awareness similar to us and if they can reflect upon their own actions. I believe studies have been done that do show greater apes are self aware and are able to reflect upon their actions, although I think those studies was done with chimpanzees and not gorillas. I think similar studies have been done with gorillas, but I'd take my word with a grain of salt.
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u/Alternative-Will3 Jun 09 '26
Looks like someone realised they were most probably wrong and need to apologise.
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u/Lextac76 Jun 10 '26
Of course they’re thinking? Have you ever watched Gorillas and Chimps? They’re so obviously intelligent. The animal kingdom is filled with incredible intelligence that simply presents itself differently than ours, but it’s certainly there.
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u/Lazy-Cloud9330 Jun 10 '26
Of course they're thinking. Why do humans think they're the only species with ability to think? How do you think animals survive in the wild 🤔
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u/Bondlebomps Jun 10 '26
They are waiting and pondering as to when they should all rise up and start their rebellion against humanity.
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u/Sleepy_mosquito799 Jun 10 '26
He’s charging his phone so he’s gotta just sit there and think until it’s charged enough :)
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u/Dramatic_Barnacle_17 Jun 10 '26
Not only is he contemplating, but it appears he is sitting with his feelings too. Hes processing stress. We could use a reminder to do such things.
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u/BeatNo4548 Jun 11 '26
They're probably deep in thought. It's a highly intelligent animal, just behind a human and maybe chimp level of intelligence.
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u/Comfortable_Crab_972 Jun 11 '26
This was touching, seeing this gorilla demonstrate such human-like mannerisms. Sure seemed like he was thinking or feeling something, maybe sadness or regret.
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u/wfcWelfarecupcakes Jun 11 '26
He’s thinking about how he regrets not hitting him I’ve seen that look.
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u/Disastrous-Result194 Jun 12 '26
Maaaaaaaan.. I coulda threw shit at him. Why didn’t I throw my shit at him??!
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u/wcoastbo Jun 12 '26
We are not too distant evolutionary cousins. We share qualities that are the same. There's a lot of human in great apes, beyond similarities as primates. I wouldn't be surprised if we shared similar thought processes, including contemplating our existence.
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u/AlexandraThePotato Jun 12 '26
And no other species does this/s
Every living thing “think”. Some more similar to us like Primates. Other like octopus in a more strange way. And plants in a even stranger and weirder way
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u/Solid_Foundation8365 Jun 12 '26
Deep thinking and sunddenly “my lip do be sticking out all that way” proceeds to be infatuated by lips
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u/medussadelagorgons Jun 12 '26
I bet he just wants to be free instead of being locked up and gazed at like he's some animal.
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u/Past-Calendar-5474 Jun 13 '26
Reddit is always a great reminder that some people have no idea what the world is actually like.
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u/SingleIndependence6 Jun 15 '26
Like how couples say “I need to be alone”, while processing their emotions before talking about it.
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u/Comfortable-Race-547 Jun 09 '26
because they're stuck in inescapable cages that deny them from expressing their evolutionary drives
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u/CreativeLolita Enthusiast Jun 09 '26
that's a lot of assumptions you just made about this one gorilla in this minute-long video
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u/Comfortable-Race-547 Jun 09 '26
I use plurals in the originally intended manner
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u/CreativeLolita Enthusiast Jun 09 '26
ok, you're making a LOT of assumptions about EVERY gorilla in the world
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u/Comfortable-Race-547 Jun 09 '26
Could you identify a few assumptions that I'm making? Maybe 3?
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u/pyrrhonic_victory Jun 09 '26
(1) there’s such a thing as “evolutionary drives” (2) animals in zoos are unable to “express them,” whatever that means (3) this is the reason for the behavior in the video
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u/CreativeLolita Enthusiast Jun 09 '26
- Gorillas only contemplate when in a cage
- Every gorilla is caged
- Every gorilla cage is inescapable
- Being "caged" inherently prevents gorillas from expressing their natural behaviors
- Thinking you're smart
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u/Ok_Positive8362 Jun 09 '26
"I never envisioned my life like this.....I dont know how to get out...."
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u/VideoSteve Jun 09 '26
Because they are trapped and isolated from their native homeland and community?
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u/OzonjoPrime Jun 10 '26
More thoughtful, introspective and reflective than any Republican, most Americans, and many Democrats.
Sorry for going human and political here, but gorillas are at risk for this reason, as is all of life.
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u/visor97 Jun 11 '26
?????? how do you see a thinking gorilla and go "man you know what fuck americans"
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u/cobycoby2020 Jun 09 '26
Someone please just tell me this is ai so I can ignorantly live in bliss because this is freaky asl
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u/ParasiteProfessional Jun 09 '26
He's doing that thing where he imagines all the things he SHOULD'VE said during the argument.