“Disturbing Discovery: Zoo Gorilla’s Shocking Reaction to Emily Brontë’s Classic Raises Questions About Animal Intelligence and Emotion”
Is there anything more tragic than a 300-pound gorilla trapped in existential ennui, wrestling with the weighty prose of *Wuthering Heights*? This past week at Lincoln Park Zoo, visitors couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Nzinga, a silverback with a monumental taste in literature but a distinctly lackluster living situation. As he languished in his enclosure, one gorilla’s struggle with the dreariness of life mirrored everything we’ve felt during those long, monotonous afternoons—only with fewer existential crises and a worse selection of entertainment! It’s a situation that leaves one wondering: if our primate pals are going to be handed classic novels for enrichment, is it too much to ask for a little variety? Honestly, shouldn’t a silverback get a Jack Reacher novel or a least a Kindle for some mindless escapism? Now, that would be “the real crime” in the animal kingdom! Want to dive deeper? LEARN MORE.
CHICAGO—Observing the 300-pound captive ape from the other side of his enclosure, Lincoln Park Zoo guests expressed empathy this week for western lowland gorilla Nzinga, who looked bored out of his mind reading Wuthering Heights.
Concerned visitors reported seeing the 26-year-old silverback resting his head on his hairy fist as he stared down at the pages of the classic tale about social class, passion, and revenge, which, with the exception of a few plants and rocks, was seemingly the only enrichment item within the exhibit at his disposal. According to sources, Nzinga’s posture slumped lower and lower throughout the afternoon as he plodded through the turgid prose of the 1847 gothic novel by Emily Brontë.
