Photo: Getty
As it turns out, our primate cousins might be just as addicted to screen time as we are.
“It’s probably a cyclical phenomena: the more he shows interest, the more people want to engage in it,” said Stephen Ross, director of the zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, adding: “It’s something we’ve noticed and have talked about a lot in terms of a strategy to address it.”
The distraction led to some behavioral issues for Amare, who didn’t appear to notice last week when one of his peers rushed him in a show of aggression, a common practice among young male gorillas asserting dominance.
“It seemed to almost surprise Amare because his attention was very much distracted,” Ross explained. “No harm, no foul in this case.”
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In response to Amare’s increased interest in screens in recent weeks, the zoo’s staff has put up a rope to keep visitors a few feet from the glass partition, in addition to intervening when needed. They’re also hoping this will curb the three other male “bachelor” gorillas in Amare’s enclosure from developing a similar obsession, which poses potential issues with their crucial pre-adult developmental period.
Ross noted that he didn’t want to discourage visitors from taking photos and videos of the gorillas but asked that guests try not to distract the animals. “If we can all sort of agree that we want to do what’s best for the animals, then we can sort of resist that desire to sit there and flip through pictures for an hour with him,” Ross said.
source: people.com
