Can gorillas digest meat?
If the question is “can gorillas eat meat?” as opposed to “do gorillas eat meat?”, then the answer is probably yes. Their digestive system isn't specialised for it, but plenty of herbivores snack on meat occasionally with no ill effects.
While science fully agrees that gorillas are omnivores because they occasionally eat insects such as termites, gorillas do not eat meat or fish.
Gorillas don't need to eat protein, because they grow their own protein in the bacteria that thrive inside of them. The gorilla consumes the vegetation to feed the bacterial colonies of their microbiome, and then absorbs the protein formed by the bacteria as they feast on the cellulose fibers of the vegetation .
Though their primary diet consists of much easier-to-find vegetation, the silverback gorilla, like humans, are an omnivorous species: they can eat meat or plants as they choose.
While some zoo specimens are known to eat meat, wild gorillas eat only plants and fruit, along with the odd insect—as far as scientists know (see video of wild gorillas feasting on figs).
The only predator to prey on gorillas is the leopard. Walter Baumgärtel found the remains of several gorillas after they had been killed by leopards in the Virunga Volcanoes. Another case has been confirmed in Gabon, where a sick young gorilla was killed by a leopard.
A lion would almost certainly win in a fight against a gorilla. The reasoning should not be all that surprising. A lion will stalk and ambush a gorilla in the dense vegetation of their natural habitat by waiting until it's dark to have the edge. They have a good chance at ending the fight in seconds.
Live Science says hippos have a “mostly herbivorous appetite,” made up of about 80 pounds of grass each night, as well as fruits found during nightly scavenges. However, a 2015 study by the Mammal Review shows hippos “occasionally” feed on animal carcasses, a more omnivorous behavior.
The emanating drumming sound can be heard over one kilometre away. The presumed function of gorilla chest beats is to attract females and intimidate rival males.
Meat eating bouts sometimes provide substantial energy and protein, and some chimpanzees gain substantial protein from meat monthly or annually.
Can gorillas eat raw meat?
Many captive gorillas accept cooked or raw meat in their diets and there is some evidence that feral gorillas may also occasionally consume matter of animal origin.
While gorillas are genetically similar to humans, they have very different digestive systems—more akin to those in horses. Like horses, gorillas are “hind-gut digesters” who process food primarily in their extra-long large intestines rather than their stomachs.
Most primates eat meat rarely, if at all, but meat sometimes provides substantial immediate energy and protein gains. The main importance of meat is probably as a source of vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. Chimpanzees eat more meat than all other nonhuman primates, but much less than African hunter-gatherers.