Gorillas with an Extreme Cleanliness Obsession: They Even Trained Themselves to Walk Upright
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, often referred to as 'cleanliness obsession,' appears to be a uniquely human phenomenon. Individuals with this condition perceive dirtiness around them, experiencing anxiety and compulsively cleaning, checking, and rejecting 'unclean' objects. Similar obsessions have been observed in animals as well. For example, a gorilla at Philadelphia Zoo has a severe case of cleanliness obsession.
This gorilla's name is Louis. It can stand and walk for extended periods, which is rare for gorillas who typically move on all fours. Although it can stand for a few seconds, Louis's ability to stand and walk for a long time has made it a social media celebrity. Louis's cleanliness obsession compelled it to voluntarily train itself to stand and walk. It wasn't intentionally trained by anyone.
Each time before eating, this 1.8-meter, 227-kilogram giant would stand and walk to avoid getting dirt on its hands and food. Especially when it had tomatoes all over its hands, it would carefully stand and walk to prevent touching the dirt on the ground. The image of a massive gorilla holding a tomato, meticulously avoiding contact with the ground with its hands, is a striking contrast—a kind of adorable irony.
The evolution of bipedalism in apes has taken so long that Louis, through its intense cleanliness obsession, voluntarily transformed itself into a standing walker. To accommodate Louis's needs, Philadelphia Zoo even created a clean pathway in its living space to prevent it from stepping in dirt before meals.
