To make up for the lack of interaction with visitors since the attractions closed in December under restrictions of the Covid-19, the chimpanzees of the Dvur Kralove Safari Park and the troops of a Brno zoo, 93 kilometers away, now you can see the daily life giant screens.
There are no disasters with muted buttons, as the sound is turned off, but there has already been a lot of interest in what distant cousins have been doing since the project started last week.
“At first they approached the screen with defensive or threatening gestures, there was interaction,” said Gabriela Linhartova, guardian of the apes at Dvur Kralove, 84 miles east of Prague.
A chimpanzee rests in front of a giant screen inside its enclosure at Dvur Kralove Safari Park.
DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS
“Since then it’s gone into ‘I’m in the movies’ or ‘I’m watching TV’ mode. When they see some tense situations, it makes them come out of the couch, just like us when we watch a live sporting event.”
Chimpanzees have also adopted other human behaviors, such as grabbing candy as a nut to chew while watching the action.
Videoconferences, also broadcast on the safari park’s website, will be held daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the end of March, when the guards will assess whether they should continue.