Terrifying viral video: Zookeepers face off with massive silverback gorilla
Updated: 10:56 AM EDT Mar 11, 2024
A frightening video showing Texas zookeepers facing off with a silverback gorilla has gone viral.Watch the video in the player above.According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the incident happened at the Fort Worth Zoo in October 2023, but the video was just posted to social media last week. The video, which can be seen in the player above, shows the gorilla sprinting across the enclosure towards a zookeeper, who hides behind a door.”Oh my gosh, God help her, God help her, God help her,” a woman is heard saying. The zookeepers involved were able to escape to safety. Ex-zoo security officer Ben White says he found the video in his camera roll and posted it.“I was actually just going through my camera roll and saw that I had it,” he told WFAA. “There was no ulterior motive, I just posted it because I thought it was cool.”The zoo released this statement about what went wrong that day:”On Oct. 20, 2023, an incident led to two of our zookeepers sharing space with our 34-year-old silverback gorilla. Thankfully, there was no physical contact between keepers and gorilla; and all staff and animals are safe. Every day, the zookeepers shift the gorilla troop into their indoor habitat so that keepers can place the animals’ lunch in their outdoor habitat. Due to keeper error, staff entered the yard unaware that the silverback was still in its habitat. 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. Understandably, the sharing of this video has been emotional for all keepers involved.”Dr. Billy Gunnels, an animal expert and professor of biology at Florida Gulf Coast University, said the zookeepers made the right decision by staying calm. “The animal is much, much stronger than we are,” he said. “And fortunately, it looks like the zookeeper did every single thing they could appropriately.”
A frightening video showing Texas zookeepers facing off with a silverback gorilla has gone viral.
Watch the video in the player above.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the incident happened at the Fort Worth Zoo in October 2023, but the video was just posted to social media last week.
The video, which can be seen in the player above, shows the gorilla sprinting across the enclosure towards a zookeeper, who hides behind a door.
“Oh my gosh, God help her, God help her, God help her,” a woman is heard saying.
The zookeepers involved were able to escape to safety.
Ex-zoo security officer Ben White says he found the video in his camera roll and posted it.
“I was actually just going through my camera roll and saw that I had it,” he told WFAA. “There was no ulterior motive, I just posted it because I thought it was cool.”
The zoo released this statement about what went wrong that day:
“On Oct. 20, 2023, an incident led to two of our zookeepers sharing space with our 34-year-old silverback gorilla. Thankfully, there was no physical contact between keepers and gorilla; and all staff and animals are safe. Every day, the zookeepers shift the gorilla troop into their indoor habitat so that keepers can place the animals’ lunch in their outdoor habitat. Due to keeper error, staff entered the yard unaware that the silverback was still in its habitat. 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. Understandably, the sharing of this video has been emotional for all keepers involved.”
Dr. Billy Gunnels, an animal expert and professor of biology at Florida Gulf Coast University, said the zookeepers made the right decision by staying calm.
“The animal is much, much stronger than we are,” he said. “And fortunately, it looks like the zookeeper did every single thing they could appropriately.”
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