Never-before-seen photos of English village which adopted a GORILLA that went to school and drank cider with locals

These are the never-before-seen photos of the extraordinary story of an English village which adopted a GORILLA - that went to school and drank cider with locals.

The ape - called John Daniel - played with children, went to classes, ate roses from gardens and even enjoyed cups of tea.

Credits: Gloucestershire Live

He would be carted around by kids in a wheelbarrow and hang out with the local cobbler watching him repair shoes.

Raised as a boy John had his own bedroom, was potty trained and even knew how to make his bed and do the washing up.

Villagers in Uley in Gloucestershire adopted the lowland gorilla after he was captured as a baby in Gabon when his parents were shot by French officers.

John was later found for sale at London department store Derry & Toms in 1918 and bought for £300 - now £25K - by Major Rupert Penny who named him.

Rupert's sister Alyce Cunningham nurtured and brought him up at her country house in Uley - and nicknamed him "sultan".

Continued

Gorilla recaptured after escape at London zoo

Animal reportedly shot with tranquiliser dart after zoo said it was ‘managing an incident’

Kevin Rawlinson and agencies

Thursday 13 October 2016 18.52 BST Last modified on Friday 14 October 2016 12.01 BST 

London zoo was placed under lockdown on Thursday after a gorilla escaped from its enclosure.

Armed police were called to the central London attraction and visitors were evacuated as keepers tried to recapture the animal.

But Malcolm Fitzpatrick, curator of mammals at the zoo, described the escape of Kumbuka as a “minor incident” in which the male gorilla got into a secure keeper area that was not open to the public. 

Fitzpatrick said the western lowland had been tranquilised before being returned to the Gorilla Kingdom, where he was “up and grumbling and interacting with the rest of his gorilla family”.

He added: “It was a safe, secure keeper area, so at no time did he actually get out into the zoo.

“At no time were any of our visitors in any danger. The gorilla did not get out of the safe space, there were only about 100 visitors, it was the end of the day and I would like to thank all of those visitors for co-operating and moving in to buildings.”

Fitzpatrick said keepers would be staying on into the evening to check up on Kumbuka and giving him his “favourite treats”. 

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Mexican zoo shocked after beloved gorilla dies

7th July 2016

Mexico City's zoo was in shock Thursday after its beloved male gorilla died as veterinarians prepared to transport him to another city to mate with two females.

Bantu, who was 24, died of cardiorespiratory arrest late Wednesday after he was sedated and efforts to reanimate him failed, the city's environment department said in a statement, citing a preliminary autopsy.

The gorilla, who would have turned 25 on September 20, was one of the main attractions of the capital's vast Chapultepec zoo.

"This incident has caused great consternation among zoo personnel who cared for him for nearly 25 years," the statement said, adding that international veterinary protocols had been followed.

Bantu was supposed to be taken to the zoo of the western city of Guadalajara, where he would have been presented to two females in the hope that they would reproduce.

Some 20 doctors and experts from the two zoos were involved in the effort to transport him. Tests are being conducted to confirm the cause of death.

The death of a gorilla is cause for concern because populations have plummeted in the face of relentless habitat destruction. Fewer than 175,000 remain in the wild.

A controversy erupted in the United States in May when a silverback was shot dead by zookeepers in Cincinnati, Ohio, to protect a toddler who had fallen into the gorilla's enclosure.

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Conversations with Koko: an audience with world's favourite 'talking' gorilla

Alex Hannaford 15 JUNE 2016 • 8:02AM

This piece first ran in September, 2011, and has been republished to coincide with the BBC One documentary Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People

My location is a closely guarded secret: a ranch somewhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains, several miles outside the small California town of Woodside. And for good reason, for its resident is something of a celebrity.

She lives here with a male friend and both value their privacy, so much so that I’m asked to keep absolutely silent as I walk the single-track dirt path that winds through a grove of towering redwoods up to a little Portakabin.

Inside, I’m asked to put on a thin medical mask to cover my nose and mouth and a pair of latex gloves. Then my guide, Lorraine, tells me to follow another dirt trail to a different outbuilding. This one has a small wooden porch attached and it’s here that I sit on a plastic chair and look up at an open door, separated from the outside world by a wire fence that stretches the length and width of the frame.

And there she is: Koko. A 300lb lowland gorilla, sitting staring back at me and pointing to an impressive set of teeth.

I’d been told beforehand not to make eye contact initially as it can be perceived as threatening, and so I glare at the ground. But I can’t help stealing brief glances at this beautiful creature.

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Cincinnati zoo gorilla shot dead as boy falls into enclosure

29 May 2016 

Zoo officials have shot dead a gorilla after a four-year-old boy fell into its enclosure in the US city of Cincinnati.

The boy climbed through a barrier and fell into a moat, where he was grabbed and dragged by the gorilla.

The zoo said it took action to shoot the 400lb (180kg) gorilla as the situation was "life-threatening". The boy is expected to recover.

Last week two lions were shot dead in a zoo in Chile after a man entered their pen in an apparent suicide attempt.

Cincinnati zoo has temporarily shut its gorilla exhibit following the incident on Saturday.

The boy had fallen about 10ft into the moat. Video shows the boy being dragged through the shallow moat. The gorilla then stops, with the child below him and looking up at him.

But the boy was reportedly dragged by the 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla named Harambe for about 10 minutes.

The child was taken to a local hospital and although no information about his condition has been released it is believed he will recover.

Zoo director Thane Maynard said: "[The officials] made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life. It could have been very bad."

He said a tranquilliser would not have had a quick enough effect.

Mr Maynard said that although the boy was not under attack, he "certainly was at risk".

He added: "We are all devastated that this tragic accident resulted in the death of a critically-endangered gorilla. This is a huge loss for the zoo family and the gorilla population worldwide."

Read on ...

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Baby gorilla delivered by rare Caesarean section

by Brett Smith

A veterinary surgical team was successfully able to deliver a lowland gorilla by Caesarean section at Bristol Zoo in the United Kingdom after her mother, Kera, showed deadly signs of pre-eclampsia.

According to a press release from Bristol University, the female baby gorilla weighed just 2 pounds, 10 ounces and has yet to be named.

“The birth of any gorilla is a rare and exciting event; but the birth of a baby gorilla by Caesarean section is even more unusual,” said John Partridge, the zoo’s senior curator of animals. “It wasn’t a decision that we took lightly – Kera was becoming quite poorly and we needed to act fast in order to give the best possible treatment to mother and baby, and to avoid the possibility of losing the baby.”

The decision to perform a cesarean section was made after a medical assessment by veterinary medicine experts from the zoo’s in-house vets and experts from nearby Bristol University and St Michael’s Hospital.

Read more at 

Koko the gorilla meets two new kittens for her birthday, melts our hearts

OCTOBER 16, 2015

by Savanna Walker

Apparently it’s not enough for Koko the gorilla to be brilliant- she also has to be heartbreakingly adorable. She’s frequently made headlines for her incredible vocabulary of 1,000 signs and ability to understand 2,000 words in English. She's about to turn 44 after providing us with a wealth of knowledge about human-animal communication.

The Gorilla Foundation’s work with Koko has lasted 40 years and is the longest effort at inter-species communication in history. Dr. Penny Patterson instituted the foundation in the seventies when she met an undernourished baby Koko living at the San Francisco zoo-- Koko was so sweet Dr. Patterson decided to use her as a jumping off point for studies on Gorilla communication.

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Reminder: Robin Williams made a depressed gorilla laugh

AUGUST 17, 2015

by Susanna Pilny

The anniversary of Robin Williams’ death was less than a week ago, so we here at redOrbit wanted to share a story that highlights just how special he was: The story of how he helped Koko the sign language gorilla.

For those of you who don’t know, Koko was raised by humans in an attempt to see if she could be taught sign language. Beginning in 1972, the experiment was supposed to last around four years—but it still ongoing today.

In those 43 years, Koko has astounded the scientific community. She has learned over 1000 sign language words and can understand 2000 spoken English words. She not only knows words, but can use them flexibly—meaning that you can have full (albeit somewhat limited) conversations with her. Like in this video:

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Apes may be closer to speaking than many scientists think

Date: August 13, 2015

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Summary: Koko the gorilla is best known for a lifelong study to teach her a silent form of communication, American Sign Language. But some of the simple sounds she has learned may change the perception that humans are the only primates with the capacity for speech.

In 2010, Marcus Perlman started research work at The Gorilla Foundation, where Koko has spent more than 40 years living immersed with humans -- interacting for many hours each day with psychologist Penny Patterson and biologist Ron Cohn.

"I went there with the idea of studying Koko's gestures, but as I got into watching videos of her, I saw her performing all these amazing vocal behaviors," says Perlman, now a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology Professor Gary Lupyan.

The vocal and breathing behaviors Koko had developed were not necessarily supposed to be possible.

Continued ...

“Handsome” gorilla gains fame in Japan

June 28, 2015

John Hopton for redOrbit.com – @Johnfinitum

A ‘handsome’ gorilla at a zoo in Nagoya, Japan has found fame on Twitter after smoldering photos of him were used in the zoo’s spring advertisements.

Shabani, a 400 pound silverback, has also attracted crowds of local admirers – particularly female ones. According to CNN, swooning fans “constantly” surround his enclosure at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, often 100 at a time.

(Credit: Higashiyama Zoo Botanical Garden)

Staff say the gorilla is 18 years old and in the prime of his life, but this silverback also has a Clooney-esque sophistication to add to his physical prowess. He has become famous for flexing his muscles and for his intense, brooding stares when being photographed.

“He often rests his chin on his hands and looks intently at you,” zoo spokesman Takayuki Ishikawa told AFP, quoted by Discovery. “He is more buff than most gorillas. We’ve seen a rise in the number of female visitors — women say he’s very good-looking.”

What women want?

Added to good looks on his long list of attributes is the protectiveness he shows to his family. Shabani has two ‘wives’, Ai and Nene, and two children – Kiyomasi and Annie. Keepers and visitors alike say he appears to be a model father.

“He always protects and looks over his children,” Ishikawa said. “Zoo-goers think his kindness is attractive too.”

In fact, his camera poses can be explained by this protective instinct, rather than any Hollywood ambitions.

“He will look you in the eye and sometimes if you’re taking photos it will look like he’s posing for you like a model,” Ishikawa said, “But he’s the head of a group of five gorillas so it’s likely he’s just watching out for them and keeping an eye on you.”

Read more at

Thailand: Campaign to free gorilla from high-rise zoo

24 September 2014 Last updated at 13:42

News from Elsewhere.....media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring

Officials in Bangkok have agreed to meet activists campaigning for the release of a female gorilla which has been on display in a department store's zoo since 1987, it's reported.

The campaign to re-house Bua Noi (Little Lotus) from the zoo on the top two floors of Bangkok's Pata department store has more than 35,000 signatures and has resulted in the director of the country's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) agreeing to speak to activists about the case, the Bangkok Post reports. Sinjira Apaitan, who organised the petition, told the paper: "I don't think animals should be locked up in such unnatural habitat. I hope to help all other animals being held captive in this high-rise zoo as well." Speaking to Bangkok's Nation newspaper Sinjira hopes that the zoo, which has been criticised for its cramped conditions in the world's media for several years, would lose its licence.

Continued ...

Is she fur real? PETA slams fashion writer spotted wearing a coat made from GORILLA PELT in Paris

• Diane Pernet received the coat as a gift from a friend who is vegetarian
• Gorillas share 98per cent of their DNA with humans
• Three of the world's four gorilla species have been deemed 'critically endangered'

A fashion editor has been spotted wearing a vintage coat made of real gorilla fur.

American-born, Paris-based writer Diane Pernet was photographed by the Associated Presswearing an ensemble that included the endangered species’ pelt.

In a tweet dispatched from the French capital today the news agency wrote: ‘Fashion icon Diane Pernet wears a real, vintage gorilla coat at Paris fashion week.’

Read on

Colo the western lowland gorilla celebrates her 56th birthday at Columbus zoo

A gorilla, which was the first to be born in a zoo, has celebrated her 56th birthday.

Colo, from Columbus Zoo in Ohio, decided to mark the occasion by snacking on tomatoes at her sanctuary in the US.

Visitors sang happy birthday to the western lowland gorilla, who was born at the animal park in 1956.

She also received presents, which she managed to open by herself and also feasted on a cake made by her zookeepers.

Continued:  http://metro.co.uk/2012/12/24/colo-the-western-lowland-gorilla-celebrates-her-56th-birthday-at-columbus-zoo-3328905/

Gorilla patriarch of Columbus Zoo surrogacy program dies

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A gorilla known for being the patriarch of a renowned gorilla surrogacy program at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio died on Friday at an estimated age of 47, the zoo said.

The popular gorilla, Mumbah, was eating breakfast with his family when he collapsed, the zoo said in a statement. The animal care team was unable to resuscitate him.

Mumbah was born in equatorial Africa around 1965 and brought to the Columbus zoo from England in 1984. He was well past a male gorilla's average life expectancy of 31 years.

The Columbus zoo is one of the leading facilities in gorilla breeding, with 30 gorillas born there since 1956.

The zoo currently houses 15 gorillas, including 55-year-old Colo, the first captive-born gorilla and the oldest gorilla in captivity.

Mumbah was a fundamental component of the zoo's gorilla surrogacy program, the zoo said. He acted as a father figure to young gorillas unable to be cared for by their birth mothers.

"He was a gentle giant who readily accepted youngsters into his family," the zoo president, Dale Schmidt, said in a statement. "He was patient but effective at teaching them how to be vital members of a gorilla social group. His legacy will live on through all of the gorillas he helped to raise."

The zoo's Facebook page has received more than 300 comments mourning Mumbah's death.

(Editing by Mary Slosson and Peter Cooney)

http://news.yahoo.com/gorilla-patriarch-columbus-zoo-surrogacy-program-dies-215336805.html;_ylt=Aqv7LSMuVMmZsmIx7YzqCPZ4hMgF;_ylu=X3oDMTRhbWplaDNhBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgQW5pbWFsUGV0c1NTRgRwa2cDZWYzNjdjODEtZDM3Yy0zYWYwLTk3MDAtMzNhMWU0MGE3ZjM2BHBvcwM0BHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzRhZDY1MGIwLWExZmUtMTFlMS04ZmVlLTQwM2Y3MTJkYjA5Zg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Gorilla Escapes The Buffalo Zoo: Koga Bites Zookeeper

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 400-pound gorilla that escaped from its cage at an upstate New York zoo and bit a zookeeper has been captured in a zookeepers' lounge and has been tranquilized.

The Buffalo Zoo says a 24-year-old male gorilla named Koga got out of his cage into an aisle where the keeper was working Monday morning and bit her on the hand and calf.

The keeper locked herself in with the zoo's other gorillas and called the animal escape team.

Police locked down the zoo while Koga was confined to a lounge outside public areas and was tranquilized.

The Buffalo Zoo has six western lowland gorillas in its main animal building: Koga, four females and a baby female. It's investigating how Koga escaped.

The zookeeper suffered minor bite wounds. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/gorilla-escapes-the-buffalo-zoo_n_1365220.html?ref=weird-news 

What Have We Got in Common With a Gorilla? Insight Into Human Evolution from Gorilla Genome Sequence

ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2012) — Researchers have just completed the genome sequence for the gorilla -- the last genus of the living great apes to have its genome decoded. While confirming that our closest relative is the chimpanzee, the team show that much of the human genome more closely resembles the gorilla than it does the chimpanzee genome.


This is the first time scientists have been able to compare the genomes of all four living great apes: humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans. This study provides a unique perspective on our own origins and is an important resource for research into human evolution and biology, as well as for gorilla biology and conservation.

"The gorilla genome is important because it sheds light on the time when our ancestors diverged from our closest evolutionary cousins. It also lets us explore the similarities and differences between our genes and those of gorilla, the largest living primate," says Aylwyn Scally, first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Using DNA from Kamilah, a female western lowland gorilla, we assembled a gorilla genome sequence and compared it with the genomes of the other great apes. We also sampled DNA sequences from other gorillas in order to explore genetic differences between gorilla species."

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120307132210.htm

The science and heartbreak of zoo romance

By Daniel Nasaw and Matt Danzico
BBC News Magazine, Chicago

Zoo biologists use genetic analysis, demographic statistics and keen familiarity to plan the sex lives of their charges. Their goal is to avoid inbreeding and produce healthy offspring, but sometimes, even the best scientists and most attentive zoo-keepers cannot prevent a tragedy.

The couple seemed like a good pair.

Already sporting a distinguished coat of grey fur at the age of 22, he was a stout, hale and hearty father of a young son.

She was a bit younger - 16 - but those who knew her thought she was ready for motherhood.

And crucially, the computer analysis showed they did not share any recent ancestors, making them a good genetic match.

So, in a Chicago love story, zoo-keepers brought together Kwan, a male silverback western lowland gorilla, and Bana, a demure female. They hit it off, and on 16 November, Bana gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Managed sex lives
"Kwan did a really great job," said Maureen Leahy, curator of primates at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, in an interview shortly before the birth.

"This romance and match has actually paid off."


The pairing of Kwan and Bana was the product of a sophisticated breeding plan devised by a team of biologists to ensure the future genetic health of the US gorilla population.

The western lowland gorillas are just one of more than 300 species of animals in zoos across the US whose sex lives are carefully managed by the Population Management Center at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Species specialists play matchmaker to anteaters, okapis, hyacinth macaws and many others, with more than 80,000 individual critters subject to their plans.

It's similar to internet dating, said Sarah Long, the centre's director.

"We use computers and databases to get a male and female together - and sometimes produce offspring," she said.

"We're not getting new founders... wild-born animals. Now zoos are more focused on preserving what we have."


The computer software they use weighs the pedigree of the males and females, in some cases all the way back to the wild, to determine whether they are a good genetic match.

Ideally, they want two animals whose ancestors' genes are scarce among the population - that is, they have few relatives living in US zoos.

Other factors include the ages of the possible mates and the distance between them, and whether a zoo has the resources to feed and care for another one.

Read more here ...

Thanks a bunch! Europe's oldest (and grumpiest) gorilla is distinctly unimpressed with his 50th birthday flowers

Expectations had been high. But judging by the look on the birthday boy’s face, these roses were something of a letdown.
But then what do you get the gorilla who has everything?

At the grand old age of 50, Nico the silverback is a rather pampered primate.

He lives in a classical-style brick house at Longleat safari park in Wiltshire where he luxuriates in central heating and evenings watching telly.

Outside, there is plenty of room to roam and trees to climb. And there is a nice glass of Ribena and milk waiting for him every morning.

But the humans he has trained so well disappointed him when they handed over a bunch of flowers for his 50th.
The 32-stone primate looked unimpressed as he handled his present - which he promptly threw to the floor in disgust.

Staff also believe Nico's ungrateful behaviour might also be due to the spoilt and pampered lifestyle he enjoys and that he might have been expecting a bigger present.

However, the hulking beast appeared more satisfied with his banana-shaped birthday cake which he devoured in seconds.

Nico is the famous safari park's oldest resident and is the second oldest male silverback gorilla in captivity in the world.

Keeper Mark Tye said: 'It's difficult to think of new present ideas for him as he's pretty much got everything already.

'Although he is now an old man, Nico is still extremely active and in amazingly good condition considering his age.

'We came up with a selection of presents for him; some of which were more warmly received than others.

'Someone came up with the idea of a bouquet of flowers and although I'm sure he appreciated the sentiment he couldn't really disguise his lack of enthusiasm for them.

'Fortunately the banana-shaped cake went down a lot better, quite literally.'

Nico arrived at Longleat soon after the park opened in 1966, from a zoo in Switzerland.

The oldest gorilla in the world in captivity is Colo, a female who was born in 1956. She lives at Columbus Zoo, Ohio, USA.

The oldest male gorilla in the world is Ozoum who lives in Atlanta Zoo and was born a few months before Nico in 1961.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026574/Nico-Europes-oldest-gorilla-unimpressed-50th-birthday-present.html#ixzz1VNOakJyc

Gorilla becomes cameraman

A gorilla became a cameraman for a day - with amazing results - at a wildlife park on Jersey.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust gave an HD camera to Ya Kwanza, a 27-year-old silverback, to see what he would come up with.

The charity provide their gorillas with 'enrichment devices' to encourage them to forage for food and keep them mentally stimulated.

This time, the bright yellow box was not only coated with honey and oats and stuffed with raisins, but was also fitted with a hi-tech camera.

The idea came from one of the charity's mammal keepers Jon Stark, who has taken care of the critically endangered western lowland gorillas for four years.

He wondered what it would be like to take a look at life from the primate's perspective.

The resulting footage shows the silverback investigating the device and meticulously picking out raisins with a surprisingly delicate touch.

He then turns cameraman and takes a number of close ups and profile shots before peeling off the branding on the case.

Ya Kwanza then perfectly captures a shot of Jon asking for the device back, before happily throwing the box to his waiting keeper on the outside of the enclosure.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Gorilla_becomes_cameraman

Gorilla adopted by French couple

A childless French couple have adopted a 13-year-old female gorilla named Digit. The gorilla spends the day at the Saint Martin la Plaine Zoo, before going home with zookeepers Pierre and Elianne Thivillon.

Liliet Heredero reports.

Read on, and see the video...