Mind-boggling optical illusion turns ape into man in 'world's fastest evolution'

MIRROR

Optical illusions can play tricks on our minds and make us think we see things that aren’t really there – but they can be fun to try and solve, especially when they involve hidden objects or are said to reveal personality traits.

And one recently shared illusion has been described as mind-boggling by some, as it appears to show an ape “evolve” into a man in the blink of an eye.

The bizarre video was caught on camera by a tourist who visited Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing, east China on February 6, and happened to be filming a black crested gibbon through a window in its enclosure.

The tourist’s clip follows the animal as it swings its arms and playfully hops onto a rock close to the window where she was filming, but as the camera pans across to continue following the primate, it appears to “transform” into a young man wearing a black jacket and a face mask.

As the man turns to look at the woman filming him, the footage ends.

The mind-boggling video has left viewers on social media stunned, the Daily Star reports, with many joking that the ape must have been a zookeeper in a costume, who managed to ditch his ape suit as the video transitioned.

One person said: “I knew it! Zoo animals are staff who dressed up in costumes.”