Maybe she was hungry and thought it was food, maybe she was curious what the zoo patrons were staring at, or maybe, just maybe she wanted to play some Diddy Kong Racing.
Whatever the reason for her bold act of theft, this San Francisco Zoo gorilla shocked visitors when she found a dropped Nintendo DS and, in a display of humanlike curiosity, attempted to operate the handheld. While details are sparse, it seems a child accidently dropped his DS into the primate conservation area, leaving the shiny, red device at the mercy of the gorillas within.
Though she didn't manage to successfully play any games, Bawang the ape (pictured above) enjoyed a brief moment of celebrity and upstaged Koko, the most articulate non-human primate and a fellow SF Zoo gorilla.
Luckily, the story ended on a light note with the gorilla destroying the Nintendo DS and heading for Best Buy to purchase a Sony PSP.
For those of you who hit the jump, good job — that last line was a joke.
In actuality, a zoo trainer successfully coaxed the Nintendo DS from the hands of the gorilla after offering an apple in return for the handheld console. Though it suffered a few print marks and some slobber, the DS was no worse for the wear.
Remember, throwing foreign objects into an exhibit can potentially harm (or entertain) the animals inside. And if you insist on throwing a game system at zoo animals, just make sure it's a handheld — there are no outlets in the lion cages [via NBC].