Mouse from Merced, that mouse isn't a relative, is it? Great pix.
I just think us humans underestimate animals. I studied zoology/ethology for two years, in zoos and in the outdoors (okay, not Africa, but California, I am not David Attenborough).
Have you seen the video of the orca/killer whale nailing a great white off the Farrallon Islands, just for its liver. Apparently orcas love shark liver. And the Farrallons are one of the largest great white breeding areas in the Pacific.
When I would surf Monterey Bay, even a brush of seaweed would freak me out. I knew a surfer who was on his board in Bodega Bay and a great white cruised by him. He said he never paddled so fast to the shore. They love hanging out around the mouths of rivers (Ie Russian River, Eel River, etc) because that is where the seals and sea lions hang out, waiting for the fish, and of course, the great whites waiting for them.
Word: Don't surf near the mouth of rivers in northern California.
That is awesome. Patrick's right, animals have a lot more capabilities than we know of.
I just wonder though, did his zoo keepers in Denmark let him watch Utube video's of slack-liners? Or perhaps they were watching them and did not realize he was too?
It took some time, but the bears in the Valley have been seen climbing up to get haul bags of food. I have no doubt they got the idea from watching us.
It is really unnatural for a gorilla to just use his legs like that. Maybe being raised around humans he just figured being totally bi-pedal was the way to go?
It is really unnatural for a gorilla to just use his legs like that.
Hossjulia, there a many incidences of gorillas walking on two feet, bipedal. Though in this instance, yeah, the gorilla is crafty to slackine like that. One would expect that more from a chimpanzee.
To quote Bob Dylan: "The times are a changing"
Rattlesnakes learning how not to rattle, and also developing Type A along with Type B venom.
Chimps, gorillas, orangutans, dolphins and porpoises looking at themselves in a mirror, knowing it is them. Chimps and gorillas looking at their backsides, I wonder what they are thinking? Nip and tuck? Or, where is the toilet paper?
And apparently sharks, which have existed for millions of years, are learning.
And we know the Yosemite bears have a beat on Yogi.
We think that we are so smart and unique as a species, and yes the opposable thumb (prehensile) helps, that is why we can create children's hospitals, nuclear bombs and craft to reach the moon and beyond. And camming devices for climbing.
But I still think a slacklining gorilla is pretty amazing.
EDIT
That gorilla is a far better slackliner than I am.