Putting your young child in a cage with wild animals would seem dangerous to most parents, but not to conservationist Damian Aspinall. Recently, he released a video that's more than 20 years old of his then-18-month-old daughter, Tansey, playing with two gorillas!
In the startling clip, the toddler pets and hugs the animals as if they were just any other pet…and amazingly, they treat her like one of their own babies, hugging and swinging her in their powerful arms. But though the video is surprising, to say the least, Aspinall insists that the gorillas are always that gentle.
In fact, his determination to help the endangered species is what drove him to release the tape in the first place. At the time it was taken, Aspinall hesitated to make the video public in fear of backlash or punishment from child protective services. But now that his daughter is 23, he thinks he can use the clip to send a greater message.
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"If we can show millions of people how gentle and noble and wonderful these animals are, then I think we're doing the gorillas a service. I'm happy to take the stick for that," he said.
Wow, what a crazy video! Of course, many who have seen it have been horrified and accused Aspinall of negligent parenting. Personally, I think it's kind of amazing that his daughter got to experience that. Still, I don't know if I would have allowed her to engage in that kind of activity that young. After all, she was just a baby!
One thing's for sure–Aspinall has definitely captured people's attention.
Image via YouTube
