Give them privacy, says Sir David

SIR DAVID Attenborough, pictured, has called for glass-fronted zoo cages to be banned after a gorilla escaped from his enclosure.

The veteran broadcaster said he felt “deep sympathy and sorrow” for the 184kg silverback named Kumbuka as he was stared at all day by “shrieking” visitors at London Zoo. He said zoos needed to be redesigned with an option being small peepholes to allow the animals to be seen without being disturbed.

“They are wonderful animals, gorillas, which guard their privacy in the forests of West Africa,” Sir David, 90, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

They don’t live out in the open, they aren’t stared at by people, he says; and sometimes visitors to zoos aren’t respectful and start shrieking or waving their arms to get the gorilla to do something. “They are not just animals, they are related to us – and that finally the alpha male got fed up with it is hardly surprising.”

Conservationists such as the Born Free Foundation want zoos to be phased out but Sir David defended them. “It’s important for people to see these wonderful creatures,” he said. “There’s a lot to be said for zoos but they have to bear in mind the sensitivity of the animals.”

Last Friday, London Zoo confirmed that Kumbuka had broken the glass of his enclosure twice before but last week he got out through an unlocked door. The escape is being investigated. – Daily Mail