Source: Facebook/BBC East Midlands Today
Lope the dancing gorilla is causing quite the stir on social media. At Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire, England, a woman recorded the gorilla twirling and chasse-ing around his enclosure to music.
The video has been viewed nearly two million times after being posted by the BBC to Facebook.
However, Facebook users are not as enchanted by the performances as the cheery British woman who recorded it.
“This Gorilla has no concept of dancing! He is displaying stereotypic (
sic) behaviour; a mental disorder brought on by being kept in captivity,” one user said.
“She is going crazy being locked up in the zoo. Wild animals belong in the wild not in a zoo,” another commented.
Lope is actually a he, not a she, and Simon Childs, the zoo’s great ape team leader, told
Today that he is actually exhibiting the behaviors of a normal, young gorilla.
“The video shows our youngest gorilla, Lope, as he is playing,” she said. “He celebrated his 3rd birthday in January and play is a very important aspect of behavior for young apes, both in zoos and the wild. Visitors to Twycross Zoo can see Lope playing like this very often. When in a playful mood, adult gorillas can be seen showing this behavior too.”
There you have it. Lope is perfectly healthy and happy.
Now, if only he could teach us his graceful moves.
