Gorilla breaks glass in San Diego Zoo enclosure

SAN DIEGO (KSWB/KUSI) — A 10-year-old western lowland gorilla at the San Diego Zoo broke a layer of protective glass in his enclosure Saturday, zoo officials confirmed.

According to a statement from the zoo, the incident occurred when the gorilla, named Denny, broke one of the three layers of tempered glass that separate the animal from zoo visitors in the gorillas’ forest habitat. Another gorilla was also in the enclosure at the time of the event.

“Denny was not injured,” the zoo said. “The two gorillas will be cared for behind the scenes until the sign is replaced.”

Zoo officials stressed that the glass panel was made of three layers of protection and only one was compromised. No guests or staff members were injured during the incident.

The impact surprised people who saw it happen.

“We were looking at our cell phones and we didn’t notice that he got a jump start, jumped and launched himself into the glass. He hit it with his elbow or his forearm, like right into the glass, right in front of my face,” said Katya Sutil, who was celebrating her birthday at the zoo with her sister. “When it hit in front of me, I was so shaken that I fell back a few feet. When I looked up to see what happened, I saw the gorilla looking directly at me, making eye contact with me, and then a giant crack… 6 feet. It was pretty big.”

A timeline for reopening the gorilla habitat to the public was not immediately provided.

“Honestly, for the 20 minutes we were there, the gorillas were coming and going, taunting each other. One would charge the other and then disappear, and then it would happen again,” Sutil said. “So maybe there was tension between the two gorillas.”

Western lowland gorillas, like Denny, are a critically endangered species native to the forests of central Africa. The San Diego Zoo participates in conservation efforts to protect these primates and their natural habitat.