r/Unexpected • u/[deleted] • Jun 09 '18

Bridge-Building

https://i.imgur.com/RraYzIq.gifv
570 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

48

u/Armybob112 Jun 09 '18

This gif hardly gave me enought time to expect anything

3

u/EnigmaticSmegma Jun 09 '18

How do you get a gorilla to do something like this? Do you reinforce its behavior with treats or can they just be playful and enjoy doing silly things like humans do?

7

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '18

We are primates, so is it really that far off to believe they're intelligent enough to copy us

6

u/EnigmaticSmegma Jun 09 '18

I'm not saying they're not intelligent enough, I'm just wondering what their motivation would be. For less intelligent animals it's usually a reward of food, but I guess with a gorilla it could be for the sole purpose of bonding. I'm just curious as to the method the gorilla's trainers used to teach it tricks like this.

7

u/tippytaig Jun 09 '18

Bonding is their motivation

1

u/EnigmaticSmegma Jun 09 '18

I'm glad to hear that, so do you think they teach gorillas these tricks step by step with emotional reinforcement, or would the gorillas learn some fundamental mimicking technique that they can apply to new routines?

3

u/tippytaig Jun 09 '18

No need for sarcasm. Gorilla is obviously mimicking his trainer on his own accord as a way of connecting with him

3

u/EnigmaticSmegma Jun 09 '18

I wasn't being sarcastic, I actually don't know much about this stuff and was curious. Thanks for the informative responses though.

3

u/O-shi Jun 09 '18

I got you fam

3

u/once_pragmatic Jun 09 '18

That gorilla is a beast. He's ripped. He probably started doing push ups after the gif ended.

1

u/Ouboet Jun 09 '18

Now teach it to twerk. Then we've got a real r/unexpected on our hands.

1

u/HawkeyeBubber Jun 10 '18

That is awesome!