18-Month-Old Toddler Plays With a Gorilla [VIDEO, POLL]

You probably saw this video throughout the weekend, the toddler playing with a gorilla. The video has gone viral, as you can imagine. Of course, this has sparked a lot of talk and controversy, and the footage has a lot of people quite upset.

The video was taken 22 years ago and was not released before now, for fear of "backlash" from the public.

Remember the 2004 attack on the 3-year-old at the Dallas Zoo when a gorilla escaped from his cage? That child suffered a severe bite and collapsed lung. Even Steve Irwin caught a lot of criticism when he fed a crocodile while holding his 3-month-son.

But now activist Damian Aspinall, who heads a foundation dedicated to conservation and sending gorillas back into the wild, thought it was the right time to release the video. He hopes the video of his own little girl, Tansy, will bring awareness to endangered gorillas and to show their gentle nature.

In the video, you do see the toddler with a smile on her face as she pets, plays and is carried around by the gorilla. Experts say that if you are considered part of the "gorilla family" then you are completely safe. I have to admit that the video is beautiful and shows the gentleness of the gorillas. But gorillas are wild animals and so couldn't that "one instance" occur? What about that?

During an interview this morning on Good Morning America, Aspinell was asked why he wouldn't allow his 8-year-old daughter to be with the gorillas, and he said that he would have no hesitation, but now the rules have changed.

Watch the video below and then comment on the poll and let me know your thoughts?