Hygiene conscious gorilla walks like a human

Louis the gorilla walks like a human to keep his hands and food clean.

Louis the gorilla walks upright like a human to keep his hands and food clean. Source: Philadelphia Zoo

A gorilla named Louis has been filmed walking about his zoo enclosure upright like a human. 

The 500-pound, six-foot tall gorilla is said to do this to keep his hands clean, even crossing a tight-rope over a mud puddle in his enclosure to avoid getting dirty.    

Footage of Louis' walking shows the gorilla at Philadelphia Zoo upright on two legs, rather than the typical knuckle-to ground stance.

The 18-year old male uses the upright stance to keep his food clean when his hands are full with tomatoes or other snacks, according to the Associated Press. 

Louis the gorilla walks upright like a human to keep his hands and food clean. Source: Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo’s Michael Stern, the curator of primates and small mammals, said the zoo installed a fire hose like a tight-rope over a puddle in his enclosure so Louis could also avoid the mud.

Mr Stern said the human-like behaviour is “pretty unusual” for a gorilla. Louis, who has been at the Zoo since July 2014, is a Western lowland gorilla.

The gorillas would usually only adopt the upright stance for a few seconds to reach for food or wade into swamps in the wild, the Associated Press report. 

Louis the male gorilla is 18-years old, 500 pounds and six-foot tall. Source: Philadelphia Zoo