Video has gone viral of two zookeepers who unexpectedly found themselves being chased by a massive gorilla and were fortunate enough to come away from the harrowing experience alive.
The incident can also be said to show the power of prayer in action.
The video, which was first posted to TikTok on Thursday, shows a huge and powerful, 34-year-old silverback gorilla named Elmo saunter into an enclosure in which two workers were standing at the World of Primates exhibit at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, Fox News reported.
In the video, which quickly exceeded 14 million views on TikTok, a female zoo worker can be seen running in abject fear as the great ape chases after her.
Male Gorilla charges 2 zoo keepers at the Fort Worth zoo pic.twitter.com/3i6tFe0leS
— Real Untold Story (@RealUntoldStory) March 8, 2024
The video was shared on the internet by a man who said he was a security guard responding to the incident back in October 2023, USA Today reported.
A second zoo worker is seen in the video finally getting out of the gorilla enclosure when Elmo went far enough away from the exit.
The video also included shocked people in the viewing area who can be heard openly praying for the lives of the two zoo workers.
Would you ever go into an enclosure with a silverback?
A woman in the video is heard praying for the workers.
“God help her. God help her. God help her,” the woman can be heard saying. “God protect her,” the woman adds several times.
Then a man appeals to God, praying, “Please protect her.”
Meanwhile, the worker is seen pensively standing behind a tree, keeping the tree between herself and the gorilla.
Finally, the zookeepers are finally able to get to the exit and leave the dangerous situation.
As the last one escapes peril, zoo visitors can be heard praising God and saying, “Oh, my gosh. Thank you, Lord!”
The zoo put out a statement after the video went viral.
“Thankfully, there was no physical contact between keepers and gorilla, and all staff and animals are safe,” zoo spokesperson Avery Elander said on Friday.
Elander added that it was an error on behalf of the staff that the gorilla was in the enclosure when the workers walked in to bring out the animal’s food.
“The zookeepers work with and train these animals every day and thanks to their knowledge and expertise, they navigated the situation calmly and were able to exit the yard safely,” Elander added.
It most certainly did not hurt to pray for the workers’ safety, either. No amount of “training” can keep an animal as powerful and willful as Elmo from doing whatever he wants. That he somehow decided not to pursue the workers is something to be thankful for, because if he had caught them, they would not have stood a chance.
