One of my projects during my internship at the zoo was to help train a gorilla to let us take his blood. Before entering the gorilla housing area they explained the rules to us. This is the short version of what they told us:
Don't look them in the eyes- that's considered a threat. Don't stand taller than them- that's considered a threat. There are lines painted on the floor, stay between those lines because if one of these guys can even get a finger on you- he'll rip you to shreds before we can even react. And (now that I've scared the crap out of you), they are going to charge you, don't act scared- that'll only make it worse. Keeping in mind the fact that I was scared enough to piss my pants at that point- how do you walk crouched down, staring at the floor and not look scared?
I didn't have a digital camera at the time. This is a picture that the other
intern took-they're teaching this gorilla to let them do an ultrasound of his heart.
It ended up not being that bad and I'm glad that they told me all of that or I probably would have done something dumb and gotten myself into trouble, but at the time it seemed sort of silly to tell us all of that then say "Don't act scared."
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