{"id":23317,"date":"2025-09-15T07:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T07:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/23317\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T07:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T07:25:06","slug":"china-zoo-bans-visitors-from-showing-short-videos-to-baby-chimpanzee-over-eyesight-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/23317\/","title":{"rendered":"China zoo bans visitors from showing short videos to baby chimpanzee over eyesight concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A zoo in eastern China has become the focus of online chatter after banning visitors from showing a baby chimpanzee short videos on their phones.<\/p>\n

\"In In China, a zoo stopped visitors from playing short clips to a young chimp.(Representational image\/Unsplash) <\/p>\n

The unusual step, reported <\/a>by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), was introduced over concerns for the animal\u2019s eyesight and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

(Also read: Chinese man creates nostalgic video game inspired by daily moments with late grandmother<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The chimpanzee, named Ding Ding, is just two years old and has already become a crowd favourite at the Shanghai Wildlife Park. Although its gender has not been disclosed, it has charmed many with baby-like behaviour that resonates strongly with visitors. Viral clips shared online have shown the young primate sipping milk while sitting cross-legged, hiding shyly in its keeper\u2019s arms and even stealing a lotus flower to chew one petal at a time.<\/p>\n

Netizens affectionately nicknamed Ding Ding the \u201cflower thief\u201d, with one remarking that the keeper should not \u201cpunish the kid\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fondness for short clips<\/p>\n

Recently, social media posts suggested that Ding Ding had developed a liking for short videos. In one widely circulated clip, a woman can be seen holding her phone against the glass of the enclosure. As music plays, the chimpanzee stares intently at the screen, occasionally scratching its face in concentration.<\/p>\n

Another visitor observed that Ding Ding seemed especially engaged with funny clips and short dramas. They suggested that the lively sounds and visuals might have been particularly stimulating for animals.<\/p>\n

Phone ban introduced<\/p>\n

According to SCMP, the zoo responded in September by placing a clear notice outside Ding Ding\u2019s enclosure. The sign featured a sketch of the chimpanzee alongside a phone, with a bold red \u201cNo\u201d across its palm.<\/p>\n

Staff explained that excessive screen exposure could cause damage to the animal\u2019s eyesight and might also trigger stress. One worker warned, \u201cIf a chimpanzee cannot see clearly and cannot communicate with humans, it may become anxious, leading to health problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The keeper added that there were no penalties for those who broke the rule, but emphasised that unlike humans, Ding Ding could not wear glasses.<\/p>\n

News of the phone ban spread quickly on Chinese social media, where many users expressed amusement at the unusual measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A zoo in eastern China has become the focus of online chatter after banning visitors from showing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[24076,24079,607,111,139,69,147,24077,24078,406,3651],"class_list":{"0":"post-23317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-baby-chimpanzee","9":"tag-chimpanzee","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-shanghai-wildlife-park","16":"tag-viral-clips","17":"tag-wildlife","18":"tag-zoo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}