Now here’s something you don’t see every day.
A stray dog is being chased by silverback gorillas in a zoo in San Diego, California.
Dozens of zoo visitors witnessed this heart-stopping moment and you can hear them urging the dog to get out in this video.
In the video, the dog was captured running away from the silverback gorillas chasing him.
For the gorillas, it doesn’t matter how friendly you are, you better stay away from the family.
The dog and gorillas eventually stopped when they were a distance away from the rest of the family.
This dog’s pretty tough though because he still stayed in the line of vision of the gorillas. Everyone else was scared for him.
The zoo staff wasn’t sure how the dog entered the gorilla habitat or the zoo, for that matter. They believe he was one of the stray dogs that were able to enter the zoo undetected.
It wasn’t until 4 pm that this dog was spotted inside the gorilla enclosure.
The zoo staff was quick to respond and moved the gorillas to safety so that the San Diego County Humane Society officers can also safely retrieve the stray dog.
“When I showed up in the gorilla enclosure, he did look very nervous [and] afraid,” Samantha Clark, the San Diego County Humane Society officer, shared. “The dog probably felt he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
On Sunday, San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Officers responded to the @sdzsafaripark after a dog had gotten in to the gorilla enclosure. As soon as zoo staff saw the dog, they moved the gorillas out and our Humane Officers were able to safely move in and get the shepherd. pic.twitter.com/N2V33vY4eD
— San Diego Humane Society (@sdhumane) June 13, 2022
The dog was brought to the Humane Society office to be evaluated and they didn’t find any microchip in him. They called him “Mighty Joe Young.”
Thankfully, the dog was not hurt or injured during this heart-stopping moment. They only found ticks, which are common in stray dogs. They gave him flea medicine and vaccines.
They are currently looking for the dog’s owner. And in the meantime, he is safely staying at the Humane Society office in Escondido.
The gorillas’ family was also unscathed.
When the gorillas deemed the dog was not a threat, they gladly went back to living their lives inside the habitat.
Viewers were quick to share their thoughts on why the dog was inside the gorilla enclosure.
“Chile, if you ask me he was showing them the escape route. Animals are not stupid. He’s like why the heck are yall locked in here? There’s a whole world out there. The gorillas just didn’t listen,” Lady Madame said.
“The dog was trying to make friends. The silverback was just protecting his family. There are no villains here,” jaelzion added.
And there was one person who said that the dog, Mighty Joe Young, was a genius.
He couldn’t find a home so he found a way to get inside the gorilla enclosure, get rescued, and become a celebrity. He’s going to get adopted now for sure!
People say the silliest things online sometimes but we do hope this dog gets adopted for real!
The dog is a male shepherd, with no microchip. He has been placed on stray hold at our Escondido Campus, as we search for his owner. Animal Caregivers have given the dog a shelter name of “Mighty Joe Young.”
We are so glad no one was hurt. pic.twitter.com/9wekB6aTnV— San Diego Humane Society (@sdhumane) June 13, 2022
Watch how Mighty Joe Young ran away quickly from the silverback gorillas in the video below!
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