A massive gorilla was captured on video charging at the wall of its enclosure at a California zoo, smashing through part of a thick glass panel and leaving onlookers horrified.
Denny, a 10-year-old western lowland gorilla, broke one layer of a three-layered tempered glass panel in the San Diego Zoo’s Gorilla Forest habitat on Saturday, zoo officials confirmed in a statement to The Post.
Footage obtained by CBS8 captured Denny catapulting toward the glass wall, prompting several onlookers to gasp and scream as they quickly stepped back from the habitat. Images also showed members of the crowd investigating the aftermath.
Denny was not injured in the incident. He and the other gorilla in the enclosure will be cared for while the damaged panel is replaced.
“It is common for male gorillas, especially during adolescence, to express these types of behaviors,” a spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo said. “Bursts of energy, charging, dragging items, or running sideways are all natural for a young male.”
Denny had previously lived with his other siblings, including his brother Maka, who suddenly died in August at the age of 30 from a cardiac event, the zoo had announced.
Dr. Erin Riley, an anthropology professor at San Diego State University, suggested several factors could have contributed to Denny’s behavior, including grief over his late brother. “Gorillas, particularly males, will often perform what we call ‘charging displays’ as a way of showing off,” Riley told CBS8. “What I don’t know, of course, since I wasn’t there, is whether something specific provoked that display behavior.”
Western lowland gorillas are the largest primates in the world, with adult males weighing up to 500 pounds, according to the zoo’s website. The species is endangered due to deforestation in its central African habitats.
“One thing gorillas don’t like is being stared at directly in the eyes, and that’s not something zoo visitors always understand,” a zoo spokesperson explained.
It’s also possible that Denny was simply playing, but since his attention was focused on the glass, it could suggest that something among the spectators made him feel “a little bit threatened,” Dr. Erin Riley of San Diego State University theorized.
