Sir David Attenborough: 'Perhaps zoos should have peepholes for gorillas'
Sir David Attenborough has spoken out about an incident in London Zoo last week which 29-stone gorilla Kumbuka escape from his enclosure after becoming irritated at visitors.
Speaking this morning, Sir David admitted zoos are sometimes the only option: "It would be nice to think gorillas were safe in the wild, but they aren't," he said.
"One of the functions of zoos is to preserve species that are in danger of extinction. People can't always go to Africa. There's a lot to be said for zoos."
Still, he stressed that gorillas are close to humans and can be easily agitated, so perhaps zoos should look at how they present them to the public.
" Maybe the solution is that people should not be behind big panes of glass - but should look through peepholes."
Sir David Attenborough joined us live from Birkenhead, where he was about to lay the centre beam to give good luck to the SSS Sir David Attenborough, formerly known as Boaty McBoatface.
"It's a marvellous occasion," he admitted. "It's very touching and I'm very flattered."
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