Zola, one of Dallas Zoo’s gorillas, got to splash around and dance during a swimming pool enrichment session.
The Dallas Zoo needed three things to make a viral video: a happy gorilla, a blue plastic pool and some water.
Add Michael Sembello's hit "Maniac" from the 1980s movie "Flashdance" and the result is pure joy.
Zola, who's no amateur at reaching social media fame, was captured Tuesday afternoon splashing around during a swimming pool enrichment session. Then, Zola begins dancing like he's never danced before.
The video was shot by primate supervisor Ashley Orrand and posted on the zoo's YouTube page.
Bob Hagh, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram video producer, upped the ante by adding music to the raw video, and Zola's inner "steel-town girl on Saturday night" shined through. It's not clear if Zola has ever watched "Flashdance," but his moves definitely emulate Jennifer Beal's perfectly.
The Dallas ZooTube video has been viewed more than 67,000 times as of Friday morning. Hagh's tweet has been retweeted more than 20,000 times.
This isn't the first time Zola's moves have attracted attention. In 2011, a video of him "breakdancing" and splashing his feet at the Calgary Zoo also went viral.
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According to the zoo, enrichment therapy "helps enhance the environment and lives of animals, like Zola, by providing them with mental and physical stimulation to increase natural behaviors."
"Enrichment can take many forms, but for this spunky great ape, it means playing and spinning in his favorite blue pool!"
