Little more than a month ago gorilla Ambam was an undiscovered talent living a quiet life in his enclosure at Port Lympe Animal Park.
But like the many You Tube sensations before him, all it took was a moment of magic captured on camera to send him to the dizzying heights of stardom.
Since the 20-year-old silverback western lowland gorilla was filmed walking on his hind legs like a human, he has become a global star with the footage viewed across the world almost five million times.
The first 18-second piece of film reached a massive three million views, but after claims the clip was fake, staff at Port Lympe uploaded a second film which has received almost two million hits.
Visitors now flock to the gorilla enclosure at feeding time in the hope of catching the 34-stone beast having a two-legged stroll.
Phil Ridges, head gorilla keeper at the park, which is located near Folkestone, said staff were totally unprepared for the response.
"Ambam has been exhibiting this behaviour his whole life," he said.
"Just days after uploading the clip the phones were ringing off the hook with people wanting to know about Ambam and we were inundated with requests from around the world for interviews and information.
"We have had a lot of speculation that it is a man in a gorilla suit or that he has been trained to do this but Ambam has not been trained in any way, it is just something he chooses and is able to do."
Mr Ridges said there has been more visitors to the gorillas at feeding time.
"Ambam doesn’t seem to know what all the fuss is about," he said.
"While his bipedal tendencies have captured the imagination of people worldwide we are hoping that his fame will have the more serious affect of highlighting the plight of the critically endangered Western lowland gorilla.
"The charity that runs our parks, The Aspinall Foundation, is well known for its work with gorillas both at Howletts and Port Lympne and overseas where we protect over one million acres and reintroduce captive gorillas back to protected areas of the wild."
Footage of Ambam was filmed by animal researcher Johanna Watson while she was working with the University of Manchester on a project about apes.
Mr Ridges said the behaviour was not unusual for the species.
"All gorillas can do it to some extent but we haven’t got any who do it like Ambam and he is quite a celebrity at the park," he said.
"We think he might use it to get a height advantage to look over the wall when keepers come to feed him.
"Standing up can also help him in looking for food generally in his enclosure as it gives him a better vantage point.
"Ambam can also carry a lot more food if he stands and uses both hands, and walking on two feet also means he doesn’t get his hands wet when it is raining."
Visitors to Port Lympne can see Ambam and the rest of his group being scatter fed daily at noon and 3pm.
