Gorilla Exhibit At San Diego Zoo Temporarily Closed After Aggressive Interaction Between Two Gorillas

I guess this is what happens when you keep wild animals behind glass and charge people to look at them. 

The gorilla exhibit at the San Diego Zoo was temporarily closed after an aggressive gorilla interaction on Saturday in which one gorilla hit the glass viewing window damaging it. A zoo visitor shared his experience with CBS News 8.

Robert De La Pena and his family were visiting the zoo and they never expected to find themselves in such a scary experience.

“As we were watching them, all the gorillas were running around the enclosure. They were getting riled up,” said De La Pena. One of the gorillas was walking in front of the enclosure and slammed another gorilla into the glass, said De La Pena. He said it was scary, but thrilling and exciting.

The first layer of the protective glass cracked, leaving onlookers in a rather scary situation.

The zoo did release a statement after the incident:

“On Saturday afternoon, our visitors witnessed the gorillas in an exciting moment of interaction, one that is natural behavior in their habitat. They hit the glass viewing window, but it is 6 layers of glass and just an internal layer was cracked. The area was roped off from guests and the gorillas were off habitat while damage was assessed.”

“To get everybody out took a while. The gorillas were being taken away. People couldn’t believe it. It was a big commotion,” said De La Pena.