Zoos Concerned as Gorillas Become Hooked on Smartphone Videos

"What does it do for the gorilla?"

Now Screening

Zookeepers now have a new issue when it comes to their gorilla charges: limiting their screen time.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, zoos across North America have begun trying to curb the animals' obsession with smartphones, which has occurred in recent years as more and more visitors began showing them images and videos on screens, through the glass walls of their enclosures.

For the past few years, reports about gorillas — which share 96 percent of our DNA and, like us, are often enamored with seeing imagery of themselves on screens — becoming obsessed or even "addicted" to smartphones have begun emerging out of zoos in major cities.

In Toronto, for instance, zoo officials began putting up signs last year urging visitors not to show their smartphones to the animals, who are often so riveted that it begins to change their behavior as they seek out more and more screen time from the humans they encounter.

"For the wellbeing of gorilla troop," warned one sign, per a People article about the ask, "please refrain from showing them any videos or photos as some content can be upsetting and affect their relationships and behavior within their family."

Animal Nature

At San Diego's famous zoo, WSJ reporters observed — as if inside an exhibit themselves — thrilled human visitors showing their phone screens to expectant gorillas despite such interaction being "strongly" discouraged by zoo officials.

Indeed, self-described "gorilla groupies" come to the San Diego Zoo on a near-daily basis to not only film the animals, but show them videos as well. Two enthusiasts that the newspaper spoke to refused to give their names out of concerns about being barred from the zoo or the gorilla enclosures should they be found out.

"This is my happy place," a man who was seen wearing a gorilla shirt and engaging with one of the animals by showing him his smartphone through the glass, told the WSJ.

A woman who spoke to the newspaper, meanwhile, began tearing up when she considered losing access to the gorilla enclosure, insisting that "any enrichment is good enrichment."

Conservationist Beth Armstrong, who pioneered an early gorilla program at the Columbus Zoo in the 1980s, told the WSJ that she wishes people would choose to put their phones down and experience the wonder of these animals rather than inundating them with such distracting human technology.

"I get that people want that sort of connection," Armstrong said. "But the reality is: What does it do for the gorilla?"

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