The Great Apes

[brotherbear]

I understand that leopards are predators while gorillas are vegetarian and normally quiet and peaceful. I understand also that among the big cats of Asia and Africa, it is the leopard that more heavily preys on primates. But, for a leopard, a silverback gorilla should be easy to catch and easy to ambush. There is a lot of meat on a bull gorilla. Since there are not a large number of  adult male gorilla remains found from leopard predation, I would assume that a leopard considers him to be risky prey. 
I will add, a bull gorilla's response to an intruder is a buff charge. Not to scurry up a tree. The leopard is the only natural predator that a gorilla has, therefore the bluff charge is probably an adaptation primarily directed to the leopard. I have no idea what lived in the Congo during the Pleistocene. Reply