A newborn gorilla at the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda has rejected his given name and insists upon being referred to as "Thunderpecs", causing quite a hullabaloo within the scientific community and bewildered park visitors alike.
The gorilla, originally christened Lester, by the park officials has started to throw fits of anger whenever referred to by this name. His defiant behavior includes frantic chest thumping and cacophonous barking, with the unprecedented spectacle undermining standard Gorilla Behaviors 101.
Janet Perkins, a bewildered tourist on her first visit to Africa from Wisconsin comments, "I've heard of cats being finicky but a gorilla with a name preference? That's one for the books!" Perkins was among the group of about a dozen park visitors who bore witness to this primate spectacle.
Meanwhile, park officials, all duly bemused, are considering a concession to this novel situation. Dr. Osmund Dapple, Chief Primatologist confessed, "We have always named the gorillas for identification and record-keeping but "Thunderpecs" is something we did not see coming. Perhaps it's his way of asserting dominance... or it could be he enjoys the way the name echoes in the valleys. Well, monkeys and their whimsies! "
Ethel Van Meter, a primatology scholar interning at the park, gleefully noted, "As unusual as this may be, it challenges our understanding of these animals. They are indeed more complex and human-like than previously thought. What a delightful shake-up to the monotonous conventions! "
With this unfolding saga, various interest in Thunderpecs has surged. And as the story has made its way around the global internet, merchandising enquiries for "I Heart Thunderpecs" T-shirts and other memorabilia have already begun flooding in.
As for now, the only consensus amidst the chaos is that Lester, or should we say, "Thunderpecs", has thrown a monkey wrench into the usual serene ambiance of the park, and he seems intent on keeping things that way.
Based on: Hanging with baby gorillas at Rwanda's annual newborn-naming ceremony