Breakdancing gorilla Zola of Calgary Zoo goes viral
Breakdancing gorilla becomes worldwide sensation after zoo posts video on YouTube
A gorilla named Zola at the Calgary Zoo might not be king of the jungle, but he's internet royalty — after a video of his breakdancing moves went viral on YouTube.
Zola, an eight-year-old Western lowland gorilla, busts a move with some fancy foot shuffles and spins on one foot repeatedly while splashing in water in the 40-second video.
Staff at the zoo captured the footage late last week, then added music that seems to sync perfectly with Zola's b-boy moves.
They posted it Friday afternoon. By Monday morning, the YouTube video had gone viral and been viewed more than 15,000 times.
By mid-afternoon Tuesday, it had skyrocketed to 170,222 views and still climbing.
Zola loves to play in water, the zoo says.
He's one of eight Western lowland gorillas currently living at the zoo as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Gorilla Species Survival Plan.
He was originally in the Bronx Zoo in New York, but came to Calgary two years ago with three other young gorillas.
The Calgary Zoo has put the spotlight on gorillas in May and June to try to raise awareness of their plight in the wild.
Western lowland gorillas are listed as "critically endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a Switzerland-based conservation group.
The lowland gorillas are increasingly threatened by human development in their habitat, poaching and disease, the zoo says.