For the second time this year gorillas broke into a kitchen at the Calgary Zoo, the first incident, which occurred in March, resulted in minor injuries for a zoo employee.
While luckily no one was harmed, human or gorilla, in Sunday’s breakout it begs the question as to whether it will be the last time.
Clearly, upon first read the idea of gorillas looking for extra snacks seems laughable. However, when you think of trying to corral a 570-kilogram animal away from food it doesn’t seem so funny. Luckily the gorilla exhibit is closed to the public, due to flooding that hit Southern Alberta during the summer. The thought of a gorilla “mingling” with visitors would be a public relations disaster.
The zoo will be looking into the reasoning behind the break-in, which hopefully can solve any further incidents.
The March incident resulted in firing one of its keepers, due to an unlatched door. The same keeper previously had taken responsibility for leaving a knife inside the gorilla enclosure in 2009.
One fact seems fairly certain however; the gorillas will not be passing up an opportunity for extra snacks.
It proves interesting that two similar incidents happened so close together. When you think of the zoo, you never think of the animals escaping. The zoo’s gorillas however are proving can never be too careful.
The article I read regarding the incident, on Huffington Post, begins by attributing a lesson learned about feeding animals. I think perhaps this is the simplest way to explain such an incident. Clearly the animals know where there food comes from and how important food is.
Similar to when you go camping and some animals may tend to be less weary of campsites and humans. The animals know what means food! The same as these gorillas must know, that behind their enclosure doors is a room full of bountiful treats. I think that if nothing else this is an important lesson for people to learn. It reminds us of the sheer brilliance, wit and amazing minds animals have. Humans may be considered an “apex predator” to some, but they don’t always come out on top.