PHILADELPHIA — Video has captured a gorilla walking upright for several seconds — all to keep his hands clean, according to zoo officials.
The Philadelphia Zoo posted the video on Twitter March 5. It's since been shared or liked nearly 5,500 times.
Gorillas don't typically move around bipedally, a term for walking upright on two legs, over long distances, the zoo posted.
Louis, however, likes to keep his hands clean.
"He can often be seen walking bipedal when his hands are full of snack or when the ground is muddy (so he doesn't get his hands dirty)!" the zoo posted.
The Philadelphia Zoo wrote in a 2015 blog post about Louis:
“When caught out in a rainstorm, he'll run bipedally across the yard to seek cover, and when he accidentally steps in mud, he'll find a leaf or a paper bag and wipe his hand or foot off until they are clean again.”
A curator told the Associated Press that 18-year-old Louis cares about his cleanliness so much that the zoo had to install a fire hose over a mud puddle in the gorilla’s yard. Louis walks across it like he's on a tightrope.
