A Puzzle For A Gorilla

There was a gorilla named Blublu in Ueno Zoo, Tokyo. He came from Cameroon to Japan in 1957 when he was four years old. He was a very popular gorilla and there were people who went to the zoo just for meeting him. He died in 1997 and he is still being handed down even now.

There was the time he had to be separated from his girlfriend gorilla because she suffered from rheumatism and needed a treatment. Suddenly, he became lonely and was depressed and he started pulling his fur out. Gorillas are sensitive animals and he couldn't resist loneliness.

The keepers who were in charge of gorillas heard that other zoos had succeeded in reducing their stress by showing TV programs. Then Blublu got a TV set. He loved African animal TV programs and stopped pulling out his fur.

photo credit: Eric Kilby Gorilla Posing via photopin (license)

 

I remember another way of reducing gorillas' stress. I'm not sure it was Blublu or another gorilla, anyway zoo keepers gave a rope to gorillas. It's not just a rope, the keepers intentionally made lots of knots.

What happened was, the gorilla played with the rope. He untied knots. It seemed like he loves to play with it. The rope was the same as a puzzle for him. I know there are people who don't believe it, but I heard that the gorilla's DNA is more than 98% the same as a humans' DNA. No wonder gorillas enjoy playing with the rope like a puzzle.

Gorillas shall not live on feed alone.