Gorilla art up for auction on eBay

BOSTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A gorilla that gets fruit for his labor is contributing art for sale on the eBay online auction site to raise funds for a Boston zoo.

Little Joe and Okie, two of the Franklin Park Zoo’s western lowland gorillas, are avid finger-painters, WCVB-TV, Boston, reported Tuesday. A work by Okie, who already "sold" a painting for $10,000 at a zoo fundraising event, is on eBay. The online bidding starts at $1,500 and the auction ends Saturday with proceeds going to the zoo.

Zookeeper Brandi Moores told The Boston Phoenix she began cultivating the gorillas' painting three years ago as part of a zoo program designed to intellectually stimulate the gorillas.

“I don’t know if Okie is painting thinking, ‘This is gorgeous,’ ” Moores said.

Okie and Little Joe's work has been on display at the zoo in the exhibition "Okie & Little Joe: A Retrospective."