The city zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, is warning visitors not to make extended eye contact with the chimpanzees. New rules have been posted outside the chimp enclosure warning visitors not to stare at the chimps in the habitat or a bond can form.

Zoo spokesman Ilse Segers says that lately many zoo visitors have displayed strange behavior after visiting the chimpanzee exhibit, such as climbing trees, making grunting noises, stealing food from other zoo visitors, running around on all fours, and urinating on park employees. It’s been discovered that people have exhibited this strange behavior after making extended eye contact with the chimps.

Scientists are currently investigating the phenomenon, but suspect some sort of hypnosis is taking place. Chimpanzees are known to be extremely intelligent animals and experts now believe they have the unusual ability to hypnotize other primates by simply starting into their eyes.

Zoo officials have decided not to close the chimpanzee exhibit, because the effects are relatively short lived and seem to wear off in several hours to only a few days. In one case, however, a man who visited the zoo over 3 months ago is still exhibiting chimp-like behavior. His wife says she’s hoping he’ll return to normal soon, because he’s been unable to go to work, but she told an AP reporter, “children in the neighborhood have a lot of fun playing with him and our sex life has improved dramatically.”

Or… maybe the zoo put up the sign because a new male chimp named Cheetah, that was raised by humans, is being integrated into the chimp population and too much human contact is slowling that process.

Source: CNN.com

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