There was a woman who was deliberately provoking one of the gorillas by staring at him, making direct eye contact. He ended up attacking her. This practice started there as a result of it. I’m not sure if it is more widespread now.
He became the subject of considerable international media coverage after escaping from his enclosure
Wait, so their enclosure was shitty enough that the gorilla could’ve left any time but didn’t until he was provoked, and their solution wasn’t to fix the cage, but to make everyone wear silly glasses?
“The injured woman had been a regular visitor to the great apes’ enclosure, visiting an average of four times per week. She had a habit of touching the glass that separated the public from the gorillas, whilst making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him. Zoo employees had warned her a few days earlier to keep her distance and avoid direct eye contact with the animal. This sustained staring is thought to have contributed to the attack. Although in humans smiling is a friendly behaviour, in gorillas it is a practice that is discouraged by primatologists, as apes are likely to interpret teeth exposure as a challenge or a form of aggressive display.[22] Speaking from the hospital in an interview with De Telegraaf she said; “He is and remains my darling. Since he arrived at Blijdorp, I have made contact with him. If I placed my hand on the glass, he did the same. If I smiled at him, he smiled back.”
I haven’t been to a zoo with gorillas since childhood. Are these really the current accepted practice near gorilla enclosures?
I was at one a few years ago with my kids and it was not.
There was a woman who was deliberately provoking one of the gorillas by staring at him, making direct eye contact. He ended up attacking her. This practice started there as a result of it. I’m not sure if it is more widespread now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokito_(gorilla)
Wait, so their enclosure was shitty enough that the gorilla could’ve left any time but didn’t until he was provoked, and their solution wasn’t to fix the cage, but to make everyone wear silly glasses?
“The injured woman had been a regular visitor to the great apes’ enclosure, visiting an average of four times per week. She had a habit of touching the glass that separated the public from the gorillas, whilst making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him. Zoo employees had warned her a few days earlier to keep her distance and avoid direct eye contact with the animal. This sustained staring is thought to have contributed to the attack. Although in humans smiling is a friendly behaviour, in gorillas it is a practice that is discouraged by primatologists, as apes are likely to interpret teeth exposure as a challenge or a form of aggressive display.[22] Speaking from the hospital in an interview with De Telegraaf she said; “He is and remains my darling. Since he arrived at Blijdorp, I have made contact with him. If I placed my hand on the glass, he did the same. If I smiled at him, he smiled back.”
It’s okay. Leopards only gnawed lightly at her face.
Well there’s your problem
In ape speak, she was visiting four times a week to tell him “fuck you and fuck your family, I will kill you and then your children”.
He was a good gorilla, just doing his duty and protecting his family.