A recent viral video taken at the Louisville Zoo shows a man sitting against the glass enclosure of a gorilla exhibit while scrolling through images on his phone as a gorilla appears to watch attentively.
While the video may make you say, “Aww,” for a moment, consider gorillas. Studies have shown that they’re around 98 percent genetically identical to humans. And a gorilla has even learned to communicate with American Sign Language. In zoos, animals have been known to display signs of boredom, frustration, anger, and even psychosis. Surely, gorillas don’t want to be trapped in an enclosure for human amusement.
What You Can Do
Gorillas belong in the wild—not behind a glass wall. Please, don’t patronize zoos.
