Who says only human toddlers love peek-a-boo? Baby animals are infatuated with this amusing game too.
And here’s the proof—an adorable peek-a-boo moment was caught on video when a baby gorilla decided to monkey around with a toddler at the zoo.
This interaction occurred when mom Sherry Chute brought her 2.5-year-old son, Isaiah, to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium in Delaware, Ohio, on Aug. 27, 2015.
At the zoo, Isaiah came across 2-year-old baby gorilla Kamoli in an enclosure, and he got curious.
The little man climbed in front of the enclosure and pressed his face against the glass to get a closer look at the primate.
“He was just looking at the gorillas and we said to him, ‘Isaiah what do the gorillas do?’ and he started pounding his chest,” Chute told The Columbus Dispatch.
The abruption of pounding caught Kamoli’s attention.
Kamoli, born in captivity and raised by human caretakers as well as older gorillas, is also a playful baby—like any other infant.
While Isaiah was staring at Kamoli, the primate suddenly popped out of view, hiding himself from the toddler.
When Isaiah ran to the other side to take a peek at Kamoli, the naughty primate scurried for cover.
Then, a game of peek-a-boo ensued through the enclosure’s glass wall.
Isaiah repeatedly chased after Kamoli for nearly five minutes. Meanwhile, the baby gorilla kept darting away from the boy, who was on the other side of the glass.
“He’s very playful and likes interacting with people,” Peters told The Dodo. “Kamoli seems to have an affinity for small children. All the gorillas do really.”
After the fun game, Isaiah said, “Bye, gorilla,” before leaving the primate area.
“It was so fun to see him interact with the animals and know what they were,” Chute said. “He was just so truly blissful in that moment, it melted his mommy’s heart.”
Needless to say, Chute wasn’t the only one who fell in love with the sweet interaction between Isaiah and Kamoli.
Another commented, “Now that is a real play date.”
Did this footage bring a smile to your face, reminding you of the innocence of childhood?
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