A movie theater for gorillas

People look at a lowland gorillas at the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit July 8, 2003 in New York City.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A new sign has appeared outside the gorilla habitat at the Toronto Zoo.

“For the wellbeing of gorilla troop,” it admonishes, “please refrain from showing them any videos or photos as some content can be upsetting and affect their relationships and behaviour within their family.”

The zoo grew concerned after a 14-year-old gorilla named Nassir seemed especially dazzled by videos held up by visitors on their cellphones.

“I’m not really sure what the content of the videos was,” Maria Franke, the zoo’s director of wildlife welfare, told us. “Was it gorillas in the wild? A cartoon? I don’t know. But it was like Nassir was a little boy. All he wanted to do was watch. It made him be distracted, not interact with his family, or, you know, be a gorilla. He was just so enthralled with the phones and the videos.”

Does this sound familiar? Our human DNA is a 98% match to gorillas, after all.

There have been similar stories in recent months about gorillas at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Louisville Zoo, captivated by onscreen diversions.

“Gorillas get bored in captivity,” explains Rob Laidlaw, a biologist who is executive director of Zoocheck, a Canadian animal welfare organization. Even in wildlife sanctuaries that give animals sunlight, greenery and room to roam, “they’re looking for any opportunity they can find to engage intellectually.”

This is a challenge for zoos. They keep animals safe, for conservation and research, and so visitors can marvel at and care about them. But how do they make zoo life a little more engaging for the animals?

Maria Franke says…