Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Incredible footage shows massive gorilla nearly smash zoo window after charging at young child

Adult male silverback gorillas can weigh anywhere up to 600lbs

Jack Simpson
Friday 17 April 2015 16:09 BST
Comments
The Gorilla attacked the window at Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha
The Gorilla attacked the window at Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha (YouTube)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

This is the moment a huge silver back gorilla showed visitors at a Nebraskan zoo that it was sick of being stared at when it nearly broke through its enclosure window in an attempt to charge a young girl.

In the 20-second clip titled “A three inch piece of glass between life and death”, the little girl is filmed beating her chest and making noises at the gorillas from behind the safety of the enclosure’s viewing window.

In the background, the girl’s family can be heard laughing as she continues to goad the animals. However, not everyone is as amused, and within seconds one of the enclosure’s gorillas begins charging towards the glass and at the little girl.

Fists clenched, the disgruntled gorilla leaps from the ground and into window, causing the thick glass to partially shatter.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on Thursday and has received over 700,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Commenting on Reddit, the person who uploaded the video wrote: "Shortly before this we were telling the kids they could not break it. They will never believe us again."

The $14 million dollar Hubbard Gorilla Valley enclosure at Henry Dorly Zoon in Omaha was opened in 2004 and is regarded as one of the leading centres of gorilla breeding and research in the world.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in