Gorilla At Philly Zoo Walks Upright To Keep Hands Clean For Snacks

cbs philly

When Louis has his hands full of tomatoes or other snacks, he walks upright like a human to keep food and hands clean, rather than the typical gorilla stance of leaning forward on his knuckles. Michael Stern, curator of primates and small mammals, says workers had to install a fire hose over a mud puddle in the yard. The nearly 500-pound, 6-foot-tall primate crosses it like a tight rope to avoid getting dirty.

Louis seems to be a step above the rest.
Pretty neat to see learning in action.
Will this be passed on to his friends?

nyp

a reply to: howtonhawky

Well I guess he has more time for deeper thoughts than the average wild gorilla. Is he like Koko? Can he talk too?

I vaguely remember reading several years ago about a group of Chimps in a remote area of Africa that had taught themselves how to make and use spears for hunting.

They are smart critters and under the right circumstance can learn on their own or be taught to do quite a lot.

I was wonderning what happened to BigFatFurryTexan!

Kindest respects

Lags

a reply to: [post=23242640]howtonhawky[/pos



Gonna be some good football games in a couple of million years

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
I was wonderning what happened to BigFatFurryTexan!

Kindest respects

Lags

I almost added to the op that the gorilla is also a mod here!

Hygiene and cooked food is what kinda separated us from the animal kingdom. Well, it use to separate us! Planet of the Apes here we come. Life imitates art again. Didn't they give Koko human status?

Treat this place better than we did.

a reply to: TexasTruth

they tried but realized she was a gorilla

Cool thread. I've always been fascinated by intelligence in animals. Even from animals you wouldn't expect. Some birds, octopodes and a few other animals have been seen using tools.

the furry texan did not know they were filming

a reply to: howtonhawky

He's really thinking, maybe if I act like people they
will think I'm one of them and let me out !

a reply to: howtonhawky

Really cool, but it makes me think of several things: Was this a wild born or captivity born gorilla? If born and raised by humans, or in the presence of humans...he is "aping" what he sees, and doing it very well.

It doesn't surprise me that he is doing this in a zoo...especially if he gets recognition for it.

What impresses me more than upright walking is tool usage and tool adaptation.

Orangutan from Borneo

Chimps Enter the Stone Age

a reply to: howtonhawky

the lady said "Luis lives" at a zoo...

i mean, do they need to water this down

a reply to: howtonhawky


We were at a small zoo and they had an ape or orangutan? don't remember but he was behind a chain link fence , and we watched him sting a blanket through it and hide behind it, like it was sick of being looked at. I don't blame him a bit but it was edit to add I think they are just a wheel and a spark behind

So does anyone see any commonality between this neat freak gorilla in the op and the flash dance gorilla in the dallas zoo?

What is making them smarter than the rest?

a reply to: howtonhawky

I think it boils down to learned behavior and classic attention seeking.

originally posted by: Stromth
a reply to: howtonhawky

I think it boils down to learned behavior and classic attention seeking.

It is cleanliness

That is the link

Perhaps we are their spirit mammals

originally posted by: howtonhawky
What is making them smarter than the rest?

College education.