You're Not The Only One Doing It, Chimps At 2 Czech Zoos Interact With Each Other Via Daily Zoom Calls

Zoom calls are the new norm for work meetings, birthday parties, graduation day, educational classes and hundreds of other things. As much as we might be tired of them, these chimps at two Czech zoos are beginning to love their new live online friendship.

Since the coronavirus-induced pandemic placed almost every country in the world under lockdown, zoo animals missed out on interaction with visitors. To make up for it, the chimpanzees at Safari Park Dvur Kralove and the troop at a zoo in Brno which is 150 km away from the former, interact with each other and watch one another's daily lives on giant screens.

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Reuters

Since they don't have secrets to spill out their best friend's sex life (sorry, Shweta), no one has to worry about muting the mic and ever since the project was set up, there has been growing interest in the distant cousins' lives.

"At the beginning they approached the screen with defensive or threatening gestures, there was interaction," said Gabriela Linhartova, ape keeper at Dvur Kralove.

She added, "It has since moved into the mode of 'I am in the movies' or 'I am watching TV'. When they see some tense situations, it gets them up off the couch, like us when we watch a live sport event."

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Reuters

The chimpanzees also behave like human beings in other ways - grabbing snacks like nuts to chew on while watching each other.

Reuters

The video conferences are aired on the safari park's website and run daily from 8 am till 4 pm. This will continue till the end of March after which zookeepers will decide whether to continue the project or not.