Every child I have ever met just LOVES the zoo. However, I think there will be one exception in the world after this little girl’s trip to the zoo turns out to be a nightmare. This young girl, who was just trying to have some fun, was playfully beating her chest at a silverback gorilla at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.
The next thing you know, the gorilla charged at the child smashing it powerful fists on the window cracking the glass enclosure. That’s when everyone ran in the other direction, straight out the door. What the video emphasizes more than anything is how different forms of communication among animals can go awry – and how that can get us into trouble when they are counter-intuitive to what we expect. What might be friendly to us, may actually be threatening to them.
So, note to self: Never bang your fists on your chest in front of a gorilla. Eye contact and chest beating establishes dominance among gorillas. And trust me, you’re not in any position to win.