Surprise! See How This Gorilla Reacts When She Receives Kittens as a Present
Who doesn't love a furry kitten? Even rough-and-tumble, chest-pounding gorillas show their softer side when a box of cuddly kittens shows up. Hey, gorillas want some feline friendship too.
In this video, Koko, a 44-year-old western lowland gorilla, receives a box full of kittens for her birthday. She adopts two as pets.
Koko is not your average primate. She's learned several phrases in sign language, courtesy of her trainers who seek to champion what they call "interspecies communication."
The Gorilla Foundation, which looks after Koko, posted this footage of the birthday surprise last week on YouTube.
Already the video has garnered nearly 5 million views and over 8,000 likes.
According to the foundation, Koko's adoption of the kittens has only improved her daily life.
"Not only have Koko's maternal and play instincts kicked in, but she is signing more to her caregivers and generating new content everyday that can be used by The Gorilla Foundation to create empathy [for] great apes," noted the video description.