Why you should never smile into gorilla enclosure after woman faced horrific consequences

There are simple rules of life that we all know are put in place for our benefit.

From looking both ways before you cross the road to wearing your seatbelt and everything else in between - it's always good to follow the rules that have, time and time again, proven to keep us safe.

And that's exactly the case when it comes to zoo etiquette.

Now, for the most part, attending the zoo is a whale of a time where visitors can look at some of the world's weirdest and most wonderful creatures, learn all about their behaviour and habits and bag yourself a cheeky souvenir at the gift shop.

However, it's clear things don't always go to plan after one zoo visitor found out the hard way exactly why you should refrain from smiling into gorilla enclosures.

One woman was severely injured at the Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam after smiling at a gorilla (Steve Stringer Photography / Getty Images)

It all started over a decade ago, back in 2007, when children reportedly started throwing rocks at the gorilla. However, before this happened, a frequent attendee of the zoo had been regularly smiling and making eye contact towards the animal.

The gorilla, whose name was Bokito, then managed to break free from his enclosure after jumping out, leading the woman to be seriously injured at the Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam. Bokito then reportedly dragged the woman around before biting her and causing multiple fractures.

And it didn't stop there.

The gorilla then went into a restaurant, where three more people were injured, before he was eventually sedated with a tranquilliser gun and taken back to his enclosure, while the woman was rushed to hospital.

The zoo visitor was rushed to the hospital following the attack (Alan Tunnicliffe Photography / Getty Images)

It was later reported that the woman had been visiting the gorilla on an average of four times a week since he was four months old and, in her regular visits, had a habit of making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him, which her husband said she had been advised not to do by a zookeeper.

In an interview with newspaper De Telegraaf, the woman later said: "If I laugh at him, he laughs back."

Well, it's clear that doing so is a major no-no when it comes to zoo etiquette, as Gorilla Trek says that making eye contact with a gorilla should be steered well clear of.

It explains: "To mountain gorillas, any person who keeps direct eye contact with them is a challenger and an enemy who comes to destroy the family.

"Direct eye contact will therefore force the silverback to charge and fight you in order to defend his family. If you want to be peaceful with gorillas, you should avoid eye contact."

One person later shared their own experience with a similarly terrifying experience on Reddit.

They explained: "I once worked in a zoo on work experience at 15. I made the briefest of eye contact with a silver back at the back feeding part of the enclosure, (not dissimilar to Silence of the Lambs' prison, but with fencing) that was enough to cause it to run at me and smash against the weak-looking fencing with both fists and grunting heavily.

"He then grunt called to the others, who sloped off there platforms and started trying to get me with sticks and throw hay at me, I was quickly escorted out."

They continued: "It was prob because a cute baby gorilla was bashing its chest till it fell backwards and I was watching that, and the silver back was watching me in the background.

"They are very much not to be messed with and like pretty much all other animals, not to be imprisoned for our viewing curiosity."