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[Josh Greenman <joshg1973 AT yahoo.com>]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040531/ap_on_fe_st/ 
gorilla_entertainment_1

Zookeepers Use TV to Entertain Gorillas

DALLAS -  Like any 14-year-old, Patrick has varying tastes in  
television shows.

 While he likes cartoons and public television, he's bored with sports.  
But National Geographic specials fascinate him.

 "We tried to put on sports, even though we were concerned it might  
generate aggressive behavior, but he really wasn't interested," said  
Cindy McCaleb, one of his keepers.

 Patrick is among five western lowland gorillas who have been moved to  
the Dallas Zoo's indoor holding area since a March 18 escape and attack  
by another gorilla.

 During the attack, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla escaped from  
an outdoor exhibit and injured three people before police killed him.

 Patrick and the other gorillas have shown some signs of stress since  
being kept away from the public. Zoo officials have come up with some  
creative ways, including television, to keep the gorillas entertained.

 The gorillas are fond of Disney cartoons, with "The Little Mermaid,"  
"The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast" ranking high on their list  
of favorites.

 "They don't follow the story, of course," McCaleb said in Sunday's  
editions of The Dallas Morning News. "They like the music, the color  
and the movement."

 There also seems to be differences in the viewing habits of the  
gorillas depending on their age.

 Patrick watches more television than some of the older gorillas who  
don't pay much attention to TV shows, McCaleb said.

 The gorillas also have other activities and games.

 Zoo officials hide food in large Coca-Cola syrup barrels and put  
sandwiches in mesh cages that they have to figure out how to open.

 Employees also put up posters of nature scenes, and most recently a  
Georgia O'Keeffe painting. They also play the radio.

 "I tend to go classical," McCaleb said. "It tends to mellow them out."

 Only the keepers are allowed to have contact with the gorillas when  
they're inside the 8,000-square-foot holding area.

 The apes will be held in the area until a study is completed on  
whether the outdoor exhibit is safe. The study was expected in mid-May,  
but zoo officials don't know when it will be done, said zoo spokeswoman  
Ellen Villeneuve.