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Gorilla’s Eerily Human-Like Walk Is Sparking ‘Planet Of The Apes’ Conspiracy Theories

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If you ever feel anxiety or paranoia about the possibility of an ape takeover, then perhaps you should avert your eyes. If, however, you delight in the unusual and entertaining aspects of nature, then may I direct your attention towards Louis the gorilla.

Louis, the 18-year-old gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo, has been one of the zoo’s highlights for over a decade — but, new footage of Louis walking upright like a human has garnered newfound attention for the atypical ape.

“Gorillas will occasionally stand up for a few seconds or walk a couple of steps, but what we see Louis doing is really walking clear across the yard, and that’s quite special,” Michael Stern, a curator at the Philadelphia Zoo, tells CBS. “In the video, he does have his hands full of tomatoes, which is one of his favorite treats, and I think he just doesn’t want to crush them by knuckle-walking, so he stands up and walks. He’ll also do it more if the yard is muddy. For whatever reason, he does not like the feel of mud on his hands and he just likes to stand up and walk sometimes.”

This is infinitely relatable, as I’m sure we’ve all walked on our tiptoes to avoid stepping in a muddy puddle at some point. (Side note: for some reason, I also find it unreasonably cute that this gorilla has a fondness for tomatoes.)

Many people were highly amused by Louis’ unusual gait.

Some people were pretty sure that this incident is simply a harbinger of the impending ape-ocalypse.

https://twitter.com/The_Biomage/status/975769682417537024

https://twitter.com/JeremySimser/status/975502888741949440

Then again, maybe this does offer some explanation for that grainy footage of Bigfoot?

Regardless, I do think we have to applaud Louis for his impeccable poise.

I know plenty of humans who can barely manage to walk with such enviable posture.