TAMPA, Fla. — Busch Gardens Tampa Bay shared an adorable video that's going viral of a gorilla mimicking his trainer.
"Take a look at this progression of enrichment moments with Bolingo and animal care specialist, Rachel," Busch Gardens Tampa Bay wrote. "This type of training enables us to build trusting and positive relationships with the animals that call Busch Gardens Tampa Bay home in order to provide them with the most mentally and physically stimulating environment possible."
Rachel Hale, 28, is an Animal Care Specialist at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay that works specifically with primates including gorillas and chimpanzees.
Hale says that she loves working with Bolingo because of his personality.
"He is often times goofy, energetic and intelligent and because of this, my goal each and every day is to find new ways to keep him engaged. He’s picky about what interests him, so the session that you are seeing in the video is me having to think outside the box for new ideas! Working with him truly pushes me to become a better animal specialist and caregiver. Our relationship is very special and there is nothing better than seeing Bolingo sprint across the habitat for an enrichment session with me! That will never grow old," Hale said.
Animal care specialists at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay engage with the animals with a wide variety of behaviors that continually enhance their mental and physical wellbeing as well as enable them to voluntarily participate in their own medical care.
"A special enrichment I am working on currently with Bolingo is to teach him how to choose between colors or shapes," Hale said.
