A Gorilla Sat on Some Steps and Got Compared to The Thinker. Nobody Asked Him.

In June, a short video of a gorilla sitting on some steps in Nagoya, Japan, traveled around the world. Very little happens in it.

The gorilla is Kiyomasa, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla who lives at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens. In the clip, which International Business Times UK says runs about a minute, he sits alone with a hand against his mouth or chin. He clasps his hands, scratches his head and gazes off into the distance.¹

RT and Nature Unedited posted the footage on X on 9 June 2026.¹ NewsGram reported that the clip ran 62 seconds and passed millions of views on X.⁵

The pose reminded viewers of a person sitting alone after an argument. Malay Mail and LatestLY noted comparisons to the famous statue The Thinker and to people in just that mood.⁴⁶ Viewers joked that he was rethinking his life choices. It is a lot of philosophy to hang on one head scratch.

What reportedly happened first

Social media posts linked the moment to a disagreement with a female gorilla shortly before the filming. IBTimes reported that a separate video reportedly showed Kiyomasa being kicked out of their cave.¹ NewsGram described footage of him running away while a female gorilla followed behind, screaming.⁵ Fox News’s OutKick said he was chased by a female gorilla in his troop.³

That backstory comes from social media posts, not original reporting. IBTimes presented it as reports, not confirmed fact.¹ None of the coverage included a statement from the zoo or a named eyewitness.

Much of the coverage called the female his mate, and that part is especially shaky. An automatically generated X trending summary, which does not make its sources clear, described the incident as a clash within a family troop that includes his father, Shabani, and his mother, Nene. It said Kiyomasa was chased from his enclosure and has since rejoined the group.² Wikipedia lists Nene as one of Shabani’s mates and describes her as protective of her son Kiyomasa.⁷

Kiyomasa’s father

Kiyomasa was born on 1 November 2012 and is the son of Shabani, a silverback. Around 2015, visitors labeled Shabani ikemen, Japanese for “handsome young man,” and he drew a large fan following.⁷¹

Who was really doing the thinking

IBTimes noted that the clip shows how readily people anthropomorphize animals, meaning they credit them with human thoughts and feelings. It also noted that what his behavior means is open to interpretation.¹ LatestLY put it more simply: there is no way to know what the gorilla was actually thinking.⁶