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DALLAS - One of the Dallas Zoo’s gorillas had some fun in a pool this week.
Primate supervisor Ashley Orr recorded behind-the-scenes video of a 14-year-old Western lowland gorilla named Zola twirling and dancing in a large blue kiddie pool.
Orr said Zola likes to spend time inside the gorilla building in his pool because he has a “passion for splashin.”
“As keepers, we are constantly coming up with new and fresh ways to enrich our animals. And clearly, the pool is a favorite for Zola!” Orr wrote on the Dallas Zoo’s ZooHoo blog.
When Zola was younger there was another viral video of him breakdancing at the Calgary Zoo.
The Dallas Zoo explained the “dancing” is really just play behavior for an animal. It usually signifies an animal is content or comfortable.
The zoo said the pool and other enrichment items help enhance the environment and lives of animals like Zola by providing them with mental and physical stimulations to increase natural behaviors.
Learn more about the groovin’ great ape at http://zoohoo.dallaszoo.com/2017/06/20/gorilla-groovin-promoting-play-through-enrichment/.