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In 2007, after one of their gorillas, Bokito, escaped and attacked a women who stared at him every day, the Rotterdam Zoo started handing out glasses that tricked the gorillas to avoid stare (files.catbox.moe)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by Blaze@reddthat.com to c/interestingasfuck@lemm.ee
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokito_(gorilla)

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[-] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 55 points 7 months ago

Wait, a person came to a zoo every day and stared at a Gorilla?

How many days? Did this person just go to the zoo every single day and mean mug a gorilla?

Is this an anime plotline, a zoo employee, or is OP's headline a bit misleading?

[-] MummifiedClient5000@feddit.dk 57 points 7 months ago

Zoo employees had previously warned her against doing this, but she continued, claiming a special bond with him: in an interview with De Telegraaf she said, "When I smile at him, he smiles back".

If only I could have been that one employee who got to visit her in the hospital and whisper "told ya".

[-] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 31 points 7 months ago

Yeah that ain't a 'smile' he was doing

[-] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I mean, it looks like a smile, but when gorillas bear their teeth it's an act of aggression. They also think we're being aggressive if we bear our teeth at them (smile).

Somebody should have explained that to her.

[-] Liz@midwest.social 12 points 7 months ago

They almost certainly did, let's be real.

[-] EvacuateSoul@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

You bare teeth. Unless you're, like, carrying them with the militia?

[-] BakerBagel@midwest.social 15 points 7 months ago

They then moved the gorilla to a different city, and she followed the gorilla there and continued to stare at him. After he mauled her in the cafe, he just sat around peacefully and waited for the zookeepers to take him away.

[-] skeezix@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Did he try the hot chocolate?

[-] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 7 months ago

Why wouldn’t they just bar her crazy ass from the zoo.

[-] bane_killgrind@lemmy.ml 22 points 7 months ago

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-gorilla-idUSL3042888320070530/

The 180 kg (397 lb) Bokito seriously injured a woman, who it later emerged has visited the ape almost every day since his arrival at the zoo a year and a half ago

Dutch citizens lost sympathy for the woman after it emerged that she has visited the gorilla about four times a week and said that Bokito "remains her darling" despite suffering a broken arm and wrist and around 100 bites.

Dutch Media widely reported that the woman misunderstood what she perceived as a smile from the gorilla. Experts suggest he was more likely to have been baring his teeth as a threat.

[-] unreasonabro@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

One hundred bites. Holy fuck. Bet it didn't take him long either.

[-] bane_killgrind@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

In a different context I would bust out the horny bat.

[-] EddoWagt@feddit.nl 1 points 6 months ago

And somehow he didn't even kill her, the gorilla might have been more polite than the woman

this post was submitted on 25 May 2024
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