Gorillas in our midst : the story of the Columbus Zoo gorillas

219 Pages·1997·16.602 MB·English

by  Jeff Lyttle

Gorillas
Our
in
·· Midst
,. ·,,-,. J-' '
The _Story
of the
Columbus Zoo
Gorillas
Jeff LYttle
Gorillasin OurM idst
The Story of the Columbus Zoo Gorillas
Jeff Lyttle
"The most notable lowland gorilla family in
the world had its beginnings at the Columbus
Zoo. On the morning of December 22, 1956,
the zoo received an early Christmas present.
A baby gorilla was born, and what a momen
tous occasion it was! After all, this was the
first gorilla born in captivity in a zoo, an ani
mal park, or any other facility throughout the
world .... Throughout this book, you'll learn
a lot about these magnificent animals and
why we must do all we can to save them and
their natural habitats. And of paramount im
portance to the success of the gorillas, you
will understand what a critical role the zoo
keepers have played, because they, in a spe
cial way, are also members of the gorillas'
families."
-Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus,
Columbus Zoo
Just as gorillas have a special allure for zoo
visitors around the world, the Columbus,
Ohio, zoo has a special place in the history of
the care and captive breeding of the greatest
of the great apes. Columbus was the site of
the world's first captive gorilla birth in 1956,
and in the more than four decades that have
passed since that historic day, twenty-six
more gorillas have been born into the Colum
bus Zoo gorilla family.
Gorillas in Our Midst chronicles the char
acters and events that have made the Colum
bus gorilla program world renowned. From
the brutal capture of the zoo's first gorillas in
the rain forests of Africa to the birth and

Gorillasin
OurM idst

Gorillaisn
OurM idst
The Story of the
Columbus Zoo Gorillas
Jeff Lyttle
Ohio State University Press
Columbus
SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC LIBRARY
Santa Cruz, California
Image on p. 25 reproduced with permission of Ringling Bros.-Barnum &
Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. RINGLINGB ROS.A NDB ARNUM& BAILEY®an d
THE GREATESSTH OWO N EARTH®ar e federally registered trademarks and
service marks of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc.
Copyright© 1997 by the Ohio State University.
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lyttle, Jeff, 1962-
Gorillas in our midst : the story of the Columbus Zoo gorillas/
Jeff Lyttle.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8142-0766-9 (cloth: alk. paper).
1. Gorilla-Ohio-Columbus. 2. Gorilla-Breeding-Ohio
Columbus. 3. Columbus Zoological Gardens. I. Title.
QL737.P96L97 1997
599.884-dc21 97-26066
CIP
Text designed by John Delaine.
Type set in Adobe Sabon.
Printed by Friesens Corporation, Altona, Manitoba, Canada.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Jack and Cathy
for your love, patience, and support
And to Colo,
the ultimate survivor

Contents
Foreword by Jack Hanna 1x
Acknowledgments x1
Portrait Gallery xu
Time Line xiv
Introduction 1
1. Gorilla Bill 11
2. Colo: The Celebrity Newborn 33
3. Watching Colo Grow 53
4. Bongo, and the Expanding Columbus
Gorilla Program 80
5. The Second Generation: Emmy, Oscar, and Toni 104
6. The Twins, Mosuba and Macombo II 127
7. Roscoe 147
8. Jumoke: Gorilla, gorilla, gorilla 161
9. Risks, Rewards, and the Future 176
List of Columbus Births 190-91
Index 193