If you've seen the "Gorilla Carries Toddler" video that's been circulating on the web, the first thing you think is, awwww, how adorable, I've always wanted a gorilla as pet. Then it hits you, and all of a sudden you're thinking more along the lines of holy sh#t someone actually put a toddler in a cage with a real live gorilla, alone, WTF?
The video, taken 22 years ago, features 18-month-old Tansy, who was put in the cage by her father, Damian Aspinall, owner of a wild animal park in England. The footage shows the massive animal picking up the little girl and carrying her like a doll and the two playing happily together. Aspinall only recently released the footage as part of a fundraising effort for a foundation dedicated to the conservation of gorillas, and he told ABC he didn't do so earlier because he feared there might be a backlash.
Um, you think?
I'm sorry, but I don't care how sweet and gentle they seem, gorillas are wild animals. It's easy for him to sit back now and tout this lovely video, but it doesn't erase the fact that what he did was highly irresponsible and dangerous. It could have gone so wrong so quickly, and just because they got lucky doesn't mean bragging about it now is okay.
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I'm a big believer in letting parents do what they think is right for their own children within limits, but this clearly crosses any reasonable limits. I don't think he intentionally set out to harm her, but he definitely put her in harm's way for no reason but to prove a point. And no child's life should be put at risk for that.
Watch the video and see what you think.
Do you think this dad was irresponsible?
Image via YouTube
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Comments 24
as touching and cute as the story is, the man took a chance leaving his child with "animlals",,,it would only take a second for the ape to rip that child apart,,,cute ? it is still an animal
I say the father knew what he was doing. Its not a matter of common sense, if he had any or not. Obviously this child didn't get hurt and what a lot of people forget is how closely related us humans are to apes. I think this would be an awesome experience.
scann -- A tiger isn't a gorilla. A tiger is a predatory carnivore. A gorilla is a non-predatory herbivore. Huge difference. That's like saying a goldfish is as capable and likely to attack you as a shark because they're both fish. It's no surprise when people's 'pet' lions, tigers, bears, etc attack them.