CHICAGO—Observing the 300-pound captive ape from the opposite facet of his enclosure, Lincoln Park Zoo friends expressed empathy this week for western lowland gorilla Nzinga, who regarded bored out of his thoughts studying Wuthering Heights.
Involved guests reported seeing the 26-year-old silverback resting his head on his bushy fist as he stared down on the pages of the traditional story about social class, ardour, and revenge, which, apart from a number of vegetation and rocks, was seemingly the one enrichment merchandise throughout the exhibit at his disposal. In keeping with sources, Nzinga’s posture slumped decrease and decrease all through the afternoon as he plodded via the turgid prose of the 1847 gothic novel by Emily Brontë.
“Poor factor. Think about being compelled to take a seat in a cage all day with nothing to do however examine Heathcliff pacing round a mansion and rising bitter with resentment via the years,” mentioned 43-year-old Elmhurst, IL resident Angela Kreusler, who sighed and shook her head as she watched the nice ape fidget with the nook of a web page. “It’s such a disgrace. Gorillas want fixed stimulus. You may inform he’s not engaged. Simply take a look at the best way he yawns each time he turns a web page.”
“Can’t they not less than give him a Jack Reacher e-book or one thing?” added Kreusler, crossing her arms in indignation.
Zoo guests instructed reporters they feared that the insufficient residing circumstances within the enclosure would trigger additional struggling for the gorilla, observing that Nzinga was lower than one-third of the best way via the novel and had forward of him lots of of pages detailing the tedious and complicated lives of Cathy, Catherine, Heathcliff, Linton Heathcliff, Hindley, and Hareton, amongst quite a few different impossible-to-keep-track-of characters.
“Locking up animals like this with out some other leisure choices is just immoral and merciless,” mentioned 29-year-old William Torres, who pledged to by no means return to any zoo after taking within the miserable sight of the gorilla almost nodding off whereas studying the novel. “I simply want I might attain in there and hand him the SparkNotes. He doesn’t even have entry to a household tree explaining how these residing at Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights are associated to one another. No marvel he’s so depressing.”
At press time, animal rights activists had been demanding zookeepers give Nzinga an digital system so he might watch movies or play Doodle Leap.
