The viral video of a gorilla doing a handstand isn't funny – it's desperately sad

The theme park where this gorilla lives says teaching him tricks such as this provides mental and physical stimulation. They’re not wrong. But the fact that the park is providing such artificial stimulation exposes its very awareness that a manmade enclosure is no place for a wild animal

The spectacle of a gorilla aping his keeper in doing a handstand, something which lit up social media today, was remarkable both for the agility of such a heavy animal and for what it reveals about the primates’ intelligence.

And clicking to share the footage was tempting. Who wouldn’t be amazed by the sight of a primate that weighs up to 35 stone copying someone standing on their hands?

That such a strong animal can turn itself upside down to mimic exactly a person’s movements demonstrates its not inconsiderable brainpower.

It’s that very intelligence and sensitivity that gives this video all the more poignancy.

The theme park where this gorilla lives says teaching him tricks such as this provides mental and physical stimulation.

They’re not wrong.

But the fact that the park is providing such artificial stimulation exposes its very awareness that a manmade enclosure is no place for a wild animal.

The science around the well-documented behaviour revealing stress in animals kept in captivity is little disputed. Repeated “stereotypical” movements, seen in a variety of species, such as swaying, biting themselves, pacing and – in the case of gorillas – vomiting then reingesting their stomach contents – are not seen in the wild, and have been confirmed time and again as symptoms of mental and physical distress caused by having their natural environment substituted by captivity.

Busch Gardens, where our viral gorilla Bolingo was born in 2005, does not even claim to be a zoo: it is a Disney-style theme park, where the main attractions are rollercoasters and “thrill rides”, white-water rafting and cable cars. There’s a restaurant and a children’s pool; the place regularly hosts music gigs and food and drink festivals. It’s where kids let off steam, where families can be as noisy as they like.

Now imagine the sound of the African jungle and lowland swamps where gorillas should live. Insects, birds, rainstorms. No human chatter, no screaming children. The contrast of the noise – in both quality and volume – could scarcely be greater.

In the wild, species are driven by fundamental instincts to roam or migrate hundreds of miles across land and sea; we humans can have no way of identifying with the stress that being deprived of such liberty inflicts.

No wonder elephants kept in captivity live on average less than half as long as their wild counterparts.

Busch Gardens is owned by SeaWorld, which for years has kept whales, orcas and dolphins in tanks a tiny fraction of the size of their natural habitat, the oceans.

Primates, likewise – sensitive and social creatures – belong in their natural habitat, because anything else is too stressful.

Nobody is saying that doing handstands is harmful to Bolingo’s welfare, any more than it is to a child’s welfare. He might even find it fun, as a child does.

And indeed there are some circumstances in which a professionally run zoo can play a role in conservation – all too necessary when humanity is rapidly wiping out species at a rate faster than a gorilla’s running pace. Half of all wildlife has been killed off in 40 years.

But those zoos are few and far between, and should aim to return breeding animals to the wild at the earliest opportunity.

There is a long-standing argument too that animal parks educate children; yet, as Born Free’s Chris Draper says, all they serve to do is teach youngsters that keeping wildlife behind bars is acceptable.

A theme park where animals are bred for no purpose other than to entertain humans is an anachronism; visitors to such places need to start educating themselves about the horrible effects on the inmates themselves, and start putting the needs of the animals before their desire for entertaining their families.