By Josie August 11th, 2023
A Gorilla at Toronto Zoo has become addicted to screens – proving just how similar our primate cousins really are to us.
Nassir, a 13-year-old gorilla at the Toronto Zoo, has developed an obsession typical for most teenagers (and adults for that matter) – screens.
Instead of engaging in typical gorilla behavior, he's more interested in the screens visitors hold up to the enclosure’s glass.
The allure of these devices has become so strong that it’s affecting Nassir’s relationship with his gorilla family.
The Zoo aims to provide an authentic experience for its visitors, but Nassir’s screen addiction is detracting from this experience.
Hollie Ross, a behavioral husbandry supervisor at the zoo, emphasized the importance of letting gorillas be gorillas.
To address this issue, the zoo has put up signs urging visitors not to show any videos or photos to the gorillas.
The argument that it detracts from observing the animals in their “natural state,” it’s quite ironic in a way.
The very act of confining gorillas within the boundaries of a zoo is inherently unnatural.
While the zoo discourages visitors from showing screens to the gorillas, a gorilla recovering from an injury was gifted a flat screen TV.
They allowed him to watch nature documentaries, which he did “with great interest.”