Gorillas at San Diego's zoo are getting too much screen time

Catch up quick: Chances are good, if you've visited the zoo's gorilla exhibit lately, you've seen the regulars — decked out in homemade gorilla merch, standing by the glass, ready to show the apes videos of themselves and their families.

• The gorillas clearly recognize themselves, often abandoning play to bound over to the glass and gesture with their hands to see a phone.
• It's a surreal spectacle — the gorillas couldn't look more human, zoning out as the gorilla gang swipes videos for them.

What they're saying: A zoo spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal they do not want guests to distract gorillas with screens, and they stop it when they see it.

• Guests should watch gorillas behave like gorillas, not attempt to connect with them through human technology, they said.

The bottom line: Robert Shumaker, a great ape researcher and official with the Indianapolis Zoo, lets chimpanzees and orangutans play touch-screen games like tic-tac-toe to visitors' delight.

• He said gorillas, like people, should limit their screen time.