Gorrillas tend to weigh a lot so wouldn't it be more accurate to call it a "heavy petting zoo"?

/What?

If it were the San Francisco Zoo, the gorillas would be shot and the idiots who let them out would sue the zoo.

This happend at the DC zoo years ago an Orangutan got out and wandered around and tried to get into the zoos admin offices.

theorellior: It's my understanding that gorillas are pretty chill and would only start dismembering people if they felt threatened or in pain.

Chimps, on the other hand...

... are much more like humans.

groppet: This happend at the DC zoo years ago an Orangutan got out and wandered around and tried to get into the zoos admin offices.

He had a labour dispute and wanted to take it up with management.

theorellior: It's my understanding that gorillas are pretty chill and would only start dismembering people if they felt threatened or in pain.

Chimps, on the other hand...

I find this extremely offensive. There are no bad apes, just bad owners. If a chimp attacks you it's probably your fault for making eye contact, or trying to give him a banana when he doesn't want one. Singling out one type of ape as vicious is moronic. I own two chimps and neither of them would hurt a fly, unless maybe you looked at them the wrong way or made a sudden move or something. Any ape would attack you then - even one of your gentle gorillas - because you made them feel threatened.

It's ok folks, when wintertime rolls around, the gorillas will simply freeze to death.

You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

was there that day with my daughter. she asked if we could go find and pet them. would have been my chance at father of the year

GOB: I own two chimps and neither of them would hurt a fly, unless maybe you looked at them the wrong way or made a sudden move or something.

So if we were playing chess and I made a sudden move I'd be toast?

The gorillas were free and the humans were put in a cage. How in the hell did this upside-down civilization get started? It's a madhouse! A MADHOUSE!

groppet: This happend at the DC zoo years ago an Orangutan got out and wandered around and tried to get into the zoos admin offices.

The zoo was concerned he would do a better job.

I'm always a little creeped out when I visit the gorilla exhibit at the KC Zoo. The wall doesn't seem like it's all that high, and the big boy they keep in there looks like he could handle it just fine.

Last time I was there, we were walking through a tree-lined part of the Australia section, come around a corner and a bunch of kangaroos are just RIGHT THERE. I could have strolled over to one.

We also passed a couple of camels stacked neatly, one on top of the other. An embarrassed-looking zookeeper watching them. The camel on the bottom kept moaning loudly. My 6-year-old daughter asked why the camel was yelling like that, so I said she was saying "Get off me, you big oaf!"

They wanted to run in the GOP primary.

What could possibly go wrong?

JNowe: I'm always a little creeped out when I visit the gorilla exhibit at the KC Zoo. The wall doesn't seem like it's all that high, and the big boy they keep in there looks like he could handle it just fine.

That would require him to get up from his nap. I have been there several times and they usually are lying on their backs, with their feet on a rock, sleeping.
But if properly provoked who knows what he would be capable of, best not to taunt the 400lb gorilla.

/oblig

Try TGIF's-

Way back in the early 70's I would visit the Manila Zoo. I was about 12-13 ATT. They had a single gorilla in a round, iron barred cage with a short chain link fence around the cage. You could actually shake hands with the gorilla. The poor guy was depressed, bored to tears, and just sat there, sticking his hand out, begging for treats. I didn't have anything, so I picked up a small stone and gave it to him. He took it, placed it on the bench he was sitting on, and stuck his hand out again.

Later that day, a little kitten came into his cage. he played with it, then started batting it around, the Filipinos around started laughing and egging him on, and he took that kitten by the tail and started slapping it onto the ground. The locals thought it was the funniest thing EVAR. The gorilla literally "went ape", and started violently smashing that kitten on the ground, stomping on it, raking it across the bars, and so on. Mercifully the kitten died after the first few impacts, and basically became a bag of mush with a tail. Just horrible. The crowd seemed to like it.

I just stood there appalled. That animal could have strained me through the bars and torn me to shreds. To this day I smirk at all those tourists on the nature shows, meeting "gorillas in the mist" and cooing and oooo-ing and ahh-ing. If they saw what I saw, they would not go near the bastards without a gun.

/CSB

NoFX approved.

JNowe: I'm always a little creeped out when I visit the gorilla exhibit at the KC Zoo. The wall doesn't seem like it's all that high, and the big boy they keep in there looks like he could handle it just fine.

Generally speaking, there's more protection than you might notice from the outside. In the zoos I've been at where apes/monkeys were confined in open top pens, I've seen tricks like a wet/dry moat(most really don't like getting wet), or that the main area is actually more like a hill, with the pen dipping well below ground level, making what looks like a 8' cage actually be 16' from the pen side. Something as simple as a 1 meter drop into a dry moat with having to reascend that meter, plus another 2,

It's not as effective for monkeys due to their climbing ability, but some pens will also include downward facing bars/rods that are designed to impede progress up, but encourage downward. Some just point down at some angle, like 45-60 degrees from perpendicular. Some fold - they're designed to fold up only to perpendicular to the wall(maximum impedence), but fold down right to the wall, so they can't be used effectively as a grip. There's a specific word for them, but I can't remember it at the moment.

SavageWombat: We also passed a couple of camels stacked neatly, one on top of the other.

This is what my brain saw when you said "neatly stacked."

mark12A: Later that day, a little kitten came into his cage. he played with it, then started batting it around, the Filipinos around started laughing and egging him on, and he took that kitten by the tail and started slapping it onto the ground. The locals thought it was the funniest thing EVAR. The gorilla literally "went ape", and started violently smashing that kitten on the ground, stomping on it, raking it across the bars, and so on. Mercifully the kitten died after the first few impacts, and basically became a bag of mush with a tail. Just horrible. The crowd seemed to like it.

I just stood there appalled. That animal could have strained me through the bars and torn me to shreds. To this day I smirk at all those tourists on the nature shows, meeting "gorillas in the mist" and cooing and oooo-ing and ahh-ing. If they saw what I saw, they would not go near the bastards without a gun.

Are you referring to Filipinos or gorillas?

mark12A: Way back in the early 70's I would visit the Manila Zoo. I was about 12-13 ATT. They had a single gorilla in a round, iron barred cage with a short chain link fence around the cage. You could actually shake hands with the gorilla. The poor guy was depressed, bored to tears, and just sat there, sticking his hand out, begging for treats. I didn't have anything, so I picked up a small stone and gave it to him. He took it, placed it on the bench he was sitting on, and stuck his hand out again.

Later that day, a little kitten came into his cage. he played with it, then started batting it around, the Filipinos around started laughing and egging him on, and he took that kitten by the tail and started slapping it onto the ground. The locals thought it was the funniest thing EVAR. The gorilla literally "went ape", and started violently smashing that kitten on the ground, stomping on it, raking it across the bars, and so on. Mercifully the kitten died after the first few impacts, and basically became a bag of mush with a tail. Just horrible. The crowd seemed to like it.

I just stood there appalled. That animal could have strained me through the bars and torn me to shreds. To this day I smirk at all those tourists on the nature shows, meeting "gorillas in the mist" and cooing and oooo-ing and ahh-ing. If they saw what I saw, they would not go near the bastards without a gun.

/CSB

You realize that him killing the kitten was a result of the living conditions he was kept in right, and not his natural behaviour?
When you lock up a social wild animal without any companionship or anything to do and he'll go crazy. People are exactly the same way.

How could they tell them apart from the visitors?

/fat joke not a black joke.

I think the question here should be why do we still insist on keeping animals in captivity for our amusement? Especially creatures like the great apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales. It's been proven that they are intelligent, social animals and that no matter how well made an enclosure is, they still suffer from boredom and stress.

BurnShrike: You realize that him killing the kitten was a result of the living conditions he was kept in right, and not his natural behaviour?
When you lock up a social wild animal without any companionship or anything to do and he'll go crazy. People are exactly the same way.

I would also go to guess at the locals egging him on...

/why? why? why? Why? WHY?
//I'm a dork

GOB: I own two chimps and neither of them would hurt a fly, unless maybe you looked at them the wrong way or made a sudden move or something. Any ape would attack you then - even one of your gentle gorillas

Disagrees:


/You dirty toilet

The Patient: JNowe: I'm always a little creeped out when I visit the gorilla exhibit at the KC Zoo. The wall doesn't seem like it's all that high, and the big boy they keep in there looks like he could handle it just fine.

That would require him to get up from his nap. I have been there several times and they usually are lying on their backs, with their feet on a rock, sleeping.
But if properly provoked who knows what he would be capable of, best not to taunt the 400lb gorilla.

They've been pretty active the times I've been out there. The big one watches people like he's trying to figure out which one of us owes him money.

Gawdzila: GOB: I own two chimps and neither of them would hurt a fly, unless maybe you looked at them the wrong way or made a sudden move or something. Any ape would attack you then - even one of your gentle gorillas

Disagrees:
[www.dennisonberwick.info image 300x358]

/You dirty toilet

Wow all jokes aside that pic is pretty disturbing given the story told earlier in this thread. What kind of idiot gives a gorilla a kitten to play with?

GOB: Gawdzila: GOB: I own two chimps and neither of them would hurt a fly, unless maybe you looked at them the wrong way or made a sudden move or something. Any ape would attack you then - even one of your gentle gorillas

Disagrees:
[www.dennisonberwick.info image 300x358]

/You dirty toilet

Wow all jokes aside that pic is pretty disturbing given the story told earlier in this thread. What kind of idiot gives a gorilla a kitten to play with?

That's Koko and her pet kitten that she adopted and named "All Ball".
She took very good care of it for about a year, in fact, until it wandered out of her enclosure and was hit by a car.
It distressed her so much that they later allowed her to pick out a new kitten. She kept "Smokey" until it died of old age.

I had figured most people knew about Koko.

Gawdzila: I had figured most people knew about Koko.

They can always say hi Link (new window)

Mentat: prickle27: I think the question here should be why do we still insist on keeping animals in captivity for our amusement? Especially creatures like the great apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales. It's been proven that they are intelligent, social animals and that no matter how well made an enclosure is, they still suffer from boredom and stress.

Because in the wild they'll get blown away by poachers.

This, sadly.
It isn't just for our amusement. A great many zoos are epicenters for important animal research and breeding programs that have successfully saved species from extinction.

Gawdzila: It isn't just for our amusement. A great many zoos are epicenters for important animal research and breeding programs that have successfully saved species from extinction.

Even with the 'for our amusement' part, zoos typically get most of the money they need to feed the animals from showing them off, and hit zoo-goers with a sufficiently large guilt trip that a good number donate to other animal preservation causes, shift their vote a bit, etc...

Like it or not, we need animals in zoos to remind people that animals, you know, exist, and maybe we shouldn't blindly destroy all of them, just because they are not local.