Chessington gorilla's dirty habit gets up keepers' noses
11:02am Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Bizarre By Martin George
Zookeepers are concerned children will ape the disgusting behaviour of their most senior gorilla.
Naughty teenager Damisi has been repeatedly caught on camera picking his nose in front of visitors to Chessington World of Adventures.
It is not the first time the gorillas, who last year starred in their own online version of reality show Big Brother, have raised a stink.
In 2009, staff at the zoo had to limit the animals’ intake of vegetables after visitors complained about their level of flatulence.
At least staff can be sure that one gorilla is definitely eating his greens.
James Mackie, gorilla keeper at Chessington, said: “Given the time of year, we were hoping that Damisi might give this rather disgusting habit up but, as you can see, we’ve had no such luck.
“We just hope he’s not setting a bad example to our younger gorillas.”
However, Damisi’s behaviour has yet to sink to the level of Gavin at Jerusalem Zoo, who last year became known as the world’s most sarcastic gorilla for his mocking response to visitors who applauded him.
