On 31 August 1986, five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Jambo stood guard over the boy when he was unconscious, placing himself between the boy and other gorillas in what ethologists analyze as a protective gesture. He later stroked the unconscious boy’s back.
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- ChicoSuave@lemmy.worldEnglish9 minutes
Nowadays we just shoot the animal and claim it’s humanitarian.
- ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.worldEnglish2 hours
IIRC this happened in Illinois as well. A female gorilla who had babies in the past picked up the boy, took him to the door to the enclosure, and patiently waited to hand him over to the zookeepers.
4 hours“Most of the incident was recorded on home video and extensively photographed by zoo visitors.”
Which is why we’re not posting a single picture of the incident in this article.
- homes@piefed.worldEnglish4 hours
I remember this. I was, like, seven years old at the time. It was all over the news. I remember it made my mom cry.
- Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish13 minutes
mom crying
“Why are you crying, mom?”
“I ju-hu-hu-hu-ust wanted to see a gorilla rip that boy to shreds!!! Is that so much to ask???”
mom runs off to her room crying
