Chimps go bananas for video calls at Czech zoos

The primates have been watching each on big screens

Chimpanzees at two zoos in the Czech Republic are keeping in touch by joining online video calls every day.

It's to help keep the animals interacting with others after the zoos closed in December due to coronavirus restrictions.

The chimpanzees at Safari Park Dvur Kralove and at a zoo in Brno, which are 150km apart, can now watch each other on giant screens.

The sound is off but the primates seem to be enjoying the video calls, which started last week.

We know now you feel! Zoom meetings make us sleepy too here at Newsround HQ

"At the beginning they approached the screen with defensive or threatening gestures, there was interaction," said Gabriela Linhartova, ape keeper at Dvur Kralove.

"It has since moved into the mode of 'I am in the movies' or 'I am watching TV'. When they see some tense situations, it gets them up off the couch, like us when we watch a live sport event."

The chimpanzees have even taken on other human behaviours such as grabbing snacks like nuts to eat while watching the screens.

The video calls will run daily until the end of March on the safari park's website.