Minnesota police officer under scrutiny for allegedly feeding Pop-Tarts to gorillas

At the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minn., the gorillas have a strict diet -- which doesn't permit human snack items such as, say, Pop-Tarts.

That's why a St. Paul police officer is under investigation.

Wait, what?

Yes, you read that correctly: The zoo's surveillance equipment caught the cop on tape in January, snack food suspiciously resembling Pop-Tarts in hand. The video appears to show him attempting to hand the breakfast pastries to one of the zoo's three western lowland gorillas -- either Schroeder, Gordy or Togo (surveillance video, as anyone who's watched TV news knows, is a bit grainy) -- through a space in the wire mesh of their enclosure. 

It seems that two security guards took the police officer and other unauthorized visitors on a late-night tour of the zoo. Both guards have since left the zoo's employ, MyFoxTwinCities reports, and the officer, who denies feeding the gorillas, is the focus of an internal affairs investigation. According to the zoo, it's unclear whether the gorillas ate any of the Pop-Tarts in question, and all three are in fine health today.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: MyFoxTwinCities.com

Comments

[Americas Best Zoos author]

Oops, not a good idea to be feeding poptarts to gorillas! Certainly the zoo cannot be faulted for this. America's zoos are well known for their excellent care for their animals.

Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America's Best Zoos

[Jive Turkey!]

Man, when are you people gonna finally realize taht cops are like super-important! Without them we'd all be speaking German right now. Or maybe even Iraqui. Seriously. Police are way more important than some old gorilla. This guy should be let off scotch-free. Get a clue!