Chimps from two Czech zoos are Zooming each other
Story by Reuters

We humans may be tiring of video calls, Zoom birthdays and streamed performances, but the chimps at two Czech zoos are just starting to enjoy their new live online linkup.

Chimpanzees watch a giant screen inside their enclosure at Dvur Kralove Zoo, where a screen broadcasting fellow apes from Brno zoo has been installed as part of an enrichment project for chimpanzees amid zoo closures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Dvur Kralove nad Labem, Czech Republic, March 16, 2021. REUTERS/David W Cerny

To make up for the lack of interaction with visitors since the attractions closed in December under Covid-19 restrictions, the chimpanzees at Safari Park Dvur Kralove and the troop at a zoo in Brno, 93 miles away, can now watch one another's daily lives on giant screens.

There are no mute-button disasters as the sound is off, but there has already been plenty of interest in what the distant cousins are up to since the project got underway last week.

"At the beginning they approached the screen with defensive or threatening gestures, there was interaction," said Gabriela Linhartova, ape keeper at Dvur Kralove, 84 miles east of Prague.

"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."

The chimpanzees have also adopted other human behaviors such as grabbing goodies like nuts to chew on while watching the action.

The video conferences, also aired on the safari park's website, will run daily from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. until the end of March, when keepers will evaluate whether they should continue.

© DAVID W CERNY/REUTERS A chimpanzee rests in front of a giant screen inside its enclosure at Safari Park Dvur