Shaquille O’Neal has told plenty of unbelievable stories over the years, but this one might top the list. The NBA legend recently shared why he refuses to ever go gorilla trekking, and his explanation somehow manages to be both terrifying and hilarious at the same time.
The story came up during a conversation with Priscilla Anyabu, a model, who mentioned that gorilla trekking in Uganda is one of the most sought-after experiences in the region. Shaq shut it down immediately.
“No, I don’t want to do it… You never heard the story? Alright, come closer. Stay right there. And no matter what I do, do not move. I guess gorillas see me as one of them. Don’t move. I told you not to move.”
“Every zoo I go to, let’s just say this is me and this is the cage. I come to the cage, and the gorilla will be over there, and then all of a sudden they’ll just go crazy. In every zoo in the world. So if I’m out there in their habitat and they see me, it may be an attack.”
“So no. No gorilla trekking. No way. Never. Because they look at me like, ‘How are we in here, and you’re out there?’ Yeah, they always look at me like that.”
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As ridiculous as it sounds, this is not a one-off exaggeration. Former teammates have backed it up for years. One of the most famous confirmations came from Brian Shaw, who recalled a visit to the Philadelphia Zoo during the 2001 NBA Finals. Shaw said a guide specifically warned the group not to make eye contact with the gorillas. Shaq did exactly that. The result was an enraged silverback charging the glass and scaring O’Neal so badly that Shaw said it was the first time he had ever seen Shaq genuinely frightened.
The story even caught the attention of zoo officials. A Miami Zoo executive once explained that gorillas can feel threatened by Shaq’s sheer size and posture. At 7-foot-1 and around 330 pounds, O’Neal is a freak of nature by human standards. To a gorilla, he might register as competition rather than a tourist.
That is what makes the whole thing strangely believable. Shaq is not stronger than a gorilla, and he knows it. If an animal that powerful thinks you belong to its species, confusion can turn into aggression very fast.
In the end, this might be the most Shaq story ever told. Larger than life, slightly absurd, backed up by witnesses, and just scary enough to feel real. Gorilla trekking might be on a lot of bucket lists, but for Shaquille O’Neal, it is a hard no forever.
