Experts say you should never make eye contact with a gorilla

Back in 2007, a gorilla named Bokito escaped from his enclosure and attacked a woman, causing her serious injuries.

The tale has served as a warning after the woman – who was a regular at the Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam – was attacked after she had been regularly smiling and making eye contact towards the animal.

Bokito escaped from his enclosure in 2007 (JERRY LAMPEN/AFP via Getty Images)

According to reports at the time, it all kicked off at the zoo when Bokito responded to children who had been throwing rocks at him.

He then jumped over his enclosure and attacked the woman, reportedly dragging her around before biting her and causing multiple fractures.

He then entered a restaurant, where three more people were injured.

Bokito was eventually sedated with a tranquilliser gun and taken back to his enclosure.

Meanwhile, the woman was taken to hospital.

In the aftermath, many wondered why Bokito had chosen to attack the woman specifically.

Four people were injured in the attack. (Rob Doolaard/AFP via Getty Images)

Apparently, she had been visiting the gorilla on an average of four times a week since he was four months old and had a habit of making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him – which her husband said she had been advised not to do by a zookeeper.

In an interview with newspaper De Telegraaf, the woman later said: “If I laugh at him, he laughs back.”

But according to the website, Gorilla Trek, making eye contact with a gorilla is a huge no-no.

“To mountain gorillas, any person who keeps direct eye contact with them is a challenger and an enemy who comes to destroy the family,” they explain.

“Direct eye contact will therefore force the silverback to charge and fight you in order to defend his family. If you want to be peaceful with gorillas, you should avoid eye contact.”

Eye contact with a gorilla is dangerous. (JERRY LAMPEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Discussing the incident, one person shared their own experience on Reddit: I once worked in a zoo on work experience at 15. I made the briefest of eye contact with a sliver back at the back feeding part of the enclosure, (not dissimilar to silence if the lambs prison, but with fencing) that was enough to of caused it to run at me and smash against the weak looking fencing with both fists and grunting heavily.

“He then grunt called to the others, who sloped off there platforms and started trying to get me with sticks and throw hay at me, I was quickly escorted out.

“It was prob because a cute baby gorilla was bashing its chest till it fell backwards and I was watching that, and the silver back was watching me in the background.

“They are very much not to be messed with and like pretty much all other animals, not to be imprisoned for our viewing curiosity.”

What happened to Bokito the gorilla after he made woman pay the price when she smiled at him

This is what happened after their encounter

Fights and incidents involving gorillas might sound wild or something out of a film, but it does happen.

One gorilla and his rampage in Rotterdam’s Blijdorp Zoo springs to mind.

Back in 2007, Bokito the gorilla became famous when he escaped from his enclosure and attacked a woman, causing her serious injuries.

Bokito the gorilla is known for his 2007 escape and attack at a zoo in Rotterdam. (JERRY LAMPEN/AFP/Getty Images)

The rampage was thought to be kickstarted by children throwing stones at Bokito, which caused him to get angry and escape his enclosure, which included a 3.5 meters moat and a 7,000-volt electric fence. He then attacked the woman who had been known to smile at him and see him on regular zoo visits.

Bokito was eventually stopped with a tranquiliser gun after about an hour. However, in that time, Bokito had injured the woman leaving her with about a hundred bite marks, several fractures and shattered bones in her hand.

Bokito’s angry incident didn’t stop there as before his tranquiliser kicked in, he then crossed a cafe terrace and entered a restaurant, pushing people aside and injuring three more.

According to the website, Gorilla Trek, making eye contact with a gorilla is a huge no-no. They explained: “To mountain gorillas, any person who keeps direct eye contact with them is a challenger and an enemy who comes to destroy the family.

Bokito the gorilla died aged 27 years old. (ED OUDENAARDEN/AFP via Getty Images)

“Direct eye contact will therefore force the silverback to charge and fight you in order to defend his family. If you want to be peaceful with gorillas, you should avoid eye contact.”

But what happened next for Bokito the silverback gorilla after his famous escape?

Well, unfortunately, last year in April 2023 he died, after reaching 27-years-old, and spending 18 years of his life at Rotterdam Zoo.

Bokito was born at the Berlin Zoo in 1996, before moving to Rotterdam in 2005 as part of a European breeding program.

Gorillas in captivity can live to be over 50 years of age, compared to about 40 years when in the wild, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Gorillas don’t react well to eye contact. (Pexels)

Erik Zevenbergen, the director of the zoo, announced the sad news of Bokito’s passing: “Today is a very sad day for Blijdorp. He hadn’t been feeling well since Sunday.”

Zevenbergen also explained how Bokito had settled into life in the zoo after his 2007 incident, he had ten gorilla offspring and adopted a son, Nasibu, which is uncommon for gorillas.

Zevenbergen explained: “Of course we are very sad in Blijdorp now. We see that the gorilla troop is very affected and that certainly also applies to the caretakers. Bokito was a very warm family man, whom we will miss very much together.”