The Toronto Zoo requested Thursday that visitors stop showing gorillas engrossing online videos which might affect their behavior.
The zoo posted signs around the sanctuary, demanding that visitors refrain from showing the gorillas videos or photos, CTV News Toronto reported. The zoo said that certain videos can be “upsetting” to the animals and “affect their relationship and behavior within their family,” according to the outlet.
The Toronto Zoo is advising its visitors to avoid showing videos and photos on their cellphones to its gorillas as they distract the apes. https://t.co/at97kB60o8
— CTV Toronto (@CTVToronto) July 8, 2023
“We just want the gorillas to be able to be gorillas,” Hollie Ross, the zoo’s behavioral husbandry supervisor, said, according to CTV News Toronto. “When our guests come to the zoo, we want them to be able to see gorillas in a very natural state, and what they would be doing naturally — to sort of connect with them on that level.” (RELATED: Swedish Zoo Under Fire For Shooting Four Escaping Chimps)
One gorilla, Nassar, is “the epitome of a teenager” who is “fascinated by videos and screen time would dominate his life if he had his way,” according to the Toronto Zoo’s website.
“Nassir, in particular, was really interested in seeing different videos. I think, mostly, he was seeing videos of other animals. But, I think what is really important is that he’s able to just hang out with his brother and be a gorilla,” Ross said.
The zoo allows its animals to watch nature documentaries, which Ross claims the gorillas enjoy. Employees at the zoo want to ensure the content the animals are seeing does not render a negative impact on their behavior.
“We just want to make sure that we know the content. Very much like managing an account for a child or something, you want to make sure that your parental controls are on, and that you’re in control of what content is that they’re seeing,” Ross said. “We just want to make sure that we know what they’re watching.”