Toddler Pounded Chest in Front of Gorilla at Zoo. What Happened Next Left the Family Running Away | Video | TheBlaze.com
Was the family fined? They damaged an expensive glass and ruined the exhibit's view for normal people. And that girl should be punished. Not beaten of course, it's inhumane. Forced watch of King Kong movies would be OK.
I've been there when a gorilla has done that before. It was both scary and hilarious. The gorilla threw a rock at the window that was no bigger than a joint of your thumb. The window shattered, not cracked like in the video, but full on spiderweb. The gorilla scared himself so badly, that he ran off and promptly s**t himself.
Yes, they are full of bluster and bravado. But when something changes in their environment, like breaking a window, they are probably actually far more scared than the visitors. I've seen a male frightened of a tiny peacock chick too. As for punishing the child ,as suggested above, you still frequently see children(and adults too) gesticulating and trying to provoke Gorillas in zoos. The Gorillas normally ignore it and only bother to respond, as a form of redirected aggression, if they feel like it anyway. Apparently in this case there had been fighting between males, making for extra tension and as a result the male that slammed the window might have used a bit extra force than usual. I know of several instances where males have shattered or cracked glass panes- its not that uncommon.
I've often thought about that, but I think the visitors provide very good enrichment to the animals actually. Even with some stupid visitors banging on the glass, annoying the animals etc. having people walking past is - in my opinion - still a positive. This is especially true for species (such as great apes) that interact with the visitors through the glass. Another factor that I have thought (don't know if this would actually be true or not) is that if it was one way glass then the animals would be much more walled in and confined and maybe something like claustrophobic.
One way glass is a mirror on the animal side. Ramifications? Besides, I do not advocate adding additional separation between zoo visitor and animal. The animals are there so that the citizens feel a connection to wildlife, not so as to create a reality TV show about animals.
The child is blameless. The fact she 'pounded her chest' quite probably had little to do with the Gorilla being annoyed or hitting the glass at all, the press have just used that as hype. For a start there was someone videoing this and the Gorilla runs directly at that person- if it is directed at anyone.
Just to clarify my position - I completely agree with you. My above comment was joking in response to Elephas' proposal.
