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Gorilla art up for auction on eBay

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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.

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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."

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