A short but terrifying video of a gorilla in an Omaha zoo has gone viral.
In the 12 second clip shot by a visitor to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, a young girl is seen thumping her chest while observing gorillas in their enclosure.
Suddenly, a 375-pound male western lowland gorilla lunges towards the family and cracks the glass, quickly sending the shocked visitors away.
“Oh man!” says the videographer with a nervous laugh.
The clip has garnered over 2.6 million views in just one day.
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The zoo identifies the gorilla as 20-year-old Kijito. They say the public was never in danger and that the gorilla exhibit continues to be safe for visitors despite the cracked glass.
In a statement they explain, “The glass on the exhibit is engineered to account for the size, strength and speed of a large male gorilla. It has three layers and each layer alone can withstand a gorilla’s force. While one layer of glass on the exhibit did crack, leaving two layers untouched, the public was never in danger and the exhibit remains open.”
The zoo’s General Curator Dan Cassidy added that although Kijito lunged at the visitors, it was most likely just posturing towards the other male gorilla.
“It is common for male gorillas to display to each other and occasionally they use the glass because of the noise it makes on their side,” he writes.
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