Fort Worth, Texas zookeepers narrowly escape silverback gorilla - USA TODAY

People at the Fort Worth Zoo lined up to take photos of the West Lowland Gorilla in 2006. On Oct. 20, 2023 two zoo keepers at the zoo were mistakenly enclosed with a gorilla but escaped unharmed.

A video of two Texas zookeepers who unexpectedly found themselves enclosed in an exhibit with a gorilla has gone viral.

The video posted on TikTok Thursday shows the silverback gorilla named Elmo enter his display yard while two employees were still inside at the Fort Worth Zoo. The ape is seen following the shadow of one of the zookeepers.

Zoo visitors can be heard panicking and one of them prays for the employees' safety. "Oh my gosh, God help her, God help her, God help her," a woman says.

The employees move slowly, stay calm and wait for the right opportunity to safely exit.

The video of the incident, which happened on Oct. 20, 2023, had more than 25 million views by Friday evening.

"Thankfully, there was no physical contact between keepers and gorilla, and all staff and animals are safe," zoo spokesperson Avery Elander said in a statement Friday.

USA TODAY has reached out to the TikTok account owner. It's unclear why the video was only recently posted.

Strange behaviors:How do animals react during a total solar eclipse?

Zoo says incident was due to 'keeper error'

Mshindi, a silverback gorilla at the Detroit Zoological Society in Royal Oak, Michigan, checks out his surroundings on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.

Elander said that zookeepers entered the yard unaware the gorilla was still in the habitat due to "keeper error."

Every day, the zookeepers shift the gorilla troop into their indoor habitat so that keepers can place the animals' lunch in their outdoor habitat," Elander told USA TODAY. "The zookeepers work with and train these animals every day and thanks to their knowledge and expertise, they navigated the situation calmly and were able to exit the yard safely."

Elmo is a 34-year-old silverback who has lived in the zoo for several years. In 2021, he became a father after the birth of Gus, according to an Instagram post.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year
Read more

NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire

Image
NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire Posted: 11 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PST ALBANY, Ore. , March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NilocG launches a new website for planted tank enthusiasts to gather and make THRIVE, a plant fertilizer that assures planted tank aquascapes flourish while eliminating the need for multiple products more readily available online. The company also takes it a step further in the industry, making its flagship product easy to dose, super-concentrated, and an all-in-one solution based on an effective EL dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients. Continue Reading Thrive fertilizer: North America's most trusted aquarium plant fertilizer Colin Grice , CEO, a self-described planted tank lover, re
Read more