Thankful for the Simple Toys

A burlap bag is an excellent toy

We all know the story. You can spend big money on the latest toys, but the kids are going to go for the empty cardboard box every time. Same is true for gorillas. They are happy with very simple playthings. Olympia the mother gorilla, holding her baby boy Apollo,  is seated next to an empty burlap bag. He's a little too young to play very much yet, but these bags are plenty popular at the Forest Glade exhibit in the North Carolina Zoo.
 
Seventeen year old Acacia (the eldest female in the group) was hugging one for awhile during part of my recent visit. And three month old Bomassa was investigating another burlap bag by pushing it around a little with his nose.  Each day, zoo personnel bring out a dozen or so toys, and scatter them around for the gorillas to find. Some days they bring out about a dozen burlap bags. Other days they put out a bunch of big rubber rings which the gorillas like to pick up and wear like a necklace. Whatever the toy, it is fun to watch what the gorillas do with them.  Maybe Baby Bomassa Gorilla will talk about other toys one day on his Twitter.

Olympia and Apollo in the Forest Glade