Watch this chimp dabble in the wonders of virtual reality

Few chimpanzees can brag about having tried out virtual reality, but Sugriva isn’t your ordinary chimp – and he certainly knows how to rock a VR headset.

Last week, a series of videos featuring the frisky chimp showed up on the internet. The amusing footage captures Sugriva as he puts on an HTC Vive headset and proceeds to dabble in the wonders of virtual reality.

Here’s the full video:

The first clip of Sugriva was initially uploaded to Facebook on Thursday, but has since attracted the attention of Reddit and some mainstream media outlets.

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The playful chimp is currently residing in South Carolina-based preservation institute Myrtle Beach Safari, where it it often gets to mess around with the HTC Vive.

Employees of Myrtle Beach Safari have released a couple of new clips showing Sugriva playing around with the VR headset.

In one of the videos, you can watch the shrewd chimp briefly take off the HTC Vive before he quickly puts it back on – entirely on its own.

Following Myrtle Beach Safari’s decision to share Sugriva’s adventures in VR, the institute has faced a heated backlash on social media from concerned animal activists claiming the technology might have negative effects on the animal.

Employees of the Myrtle Beach Safari, however, remain confident of the positive effects of VR. The institute further said it has no plans to restrict the chimp’s access to the the technology, claiming the animal actually “loves this stuff.”

The negative consequences of VR have been well-documented and it’s common knowledge that playing around with the technology could cause pretty nasty episodes of nausea and lightheadedness. Still, it doesn’t seem like Sugriva is experiencing any of these symptoms.