Posted on 04/08/2022 1:30:49 PM PDT by SJackson
Visitors to the Chicago zoo showing the 415lb Amare pictures and videos through the glass wall has made him dismissive to other male gorillas
A teenage gorilla in a Chicago zoo has been getting too much screen time, according to zoo officials.
Amare, a 415-pound gorilla at Chicago’s Lincoln Park zoo, has been staring a little too frequently at the screens of cellphones from visitors who show him pictures and videos through the glass wall – including selfies, family photos, pet videos and even footage of Amare himself.
He has apparently become so distracted as a result that last week, when another teenage gorilla rushed at him in a show of aggression, Amare did not appear to notice.
“It seemed to almost surprise Amare because his attention was very much distracted,” said Stephen Ross, the director of the Lester E Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, to the Chicago Sun Times.
In recent months, zoo staff have had to install a rope line to keep visitors several feet away from the glass and have had to step in to explain why the phone screens were a problem.
“It’s probably a cyclical phenomena: the more he shows interest, the more people want to engage in it,” Ross said.
Three other male “bachelor” gorillas live in the same enclosure with Amare, and zoo officials are worried that they, too, might become addicted to screens.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Typical teenage gorilla
Whats sad is once they get all that free food they never want to work again.
It works on your ape brain.
He’s actually thinking, “Don’t I look cool?”
He’s not gonna find a Girlfriend staring at his own image in those phones. Apparently, people will need to be told not to do this. Common sense often does not prevail when it comes to zoo customers being around wild animals.
I thought folks wanted males to become passive, now.
I guess that’s only for humans, though.
But it doesn’t occur to these morons that the same thing will happen to humans.
Exactly. They are all frantic over a goriilas pyshological well being, but not a bit concerned about the effects on children.
He has apparently become so distracted as a result that last week, when another teenage gorilla rushed at him in a show of aggression, Amare did not appear to notice.
in other words, they turned him into a democRAT...
I follow that gorilla on TikTok.
This is asinine.
Put reflective film (one way) on the glass.
Problem sol-ved.
When the gorilla was unfriended on Facebook, he went ape!
Too much screen time isn’t good for gorillas or humans.
Who even thinks of showing a photo on their cell to a gorilla?
For that to work the light always has to be brighter on the gorilla side of the glass, otherwise it will be able to see through it. Since cell phones emit light, they might be visible even if the lighting is right. Good thinking, if they have a suitable window.
I’m aware. The brightly lit, covered (interior, iirc) exhibit in my hometown was hallway viewing, in which case it would have worked well. My perspective is admittedly biased.
Regardless, they have films which almost blackout viewing from one direction even with equal lighting on both sides. A solution exists...if they wanted one.
Monkey see, monkey do. Next they'll be wanting to wear masks.
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