Read this harrowing tale of a little boy visiting the zoo, who fell into the gorilla exhibit and a mama gorilla that saved him from certain death. The identity of the child remains anonymous, but mama gorilla is alive, well and always ready to bask in the adoration of her many fans!
It Started Out As A Typical Day At The Zoo
For Craig Demitros, lead curator of primates. his usually peaceful lunch was ruined that day when, to his horror, he became aware of an unforeseen life-threatening situation. A little boy whose name has never been revealed climbed and fell over a barrier, landing twenty feet down into the gorilla habitat. An 8 year-old female gorilla approached the motionless child and carried him about 75 feet, across a stream and to a log away from the other animals. (See: Frida The Rescue Dog.)
The Zoo Staff Was Horrified At The Unexpected Turn Of Events
Demitros rushed to the scene with two of his colleagues and when they looked below, they were horrified to see the gorilla that was carrying her own 17 month-old baby on her back, had the 3 year-old boy wrapped around her right arm. Time was of the essence and the zoo staff rushed into action, using water hoses to steer the other gorillas away from the child into their night quarters. (See: Dasher The German Shepherd Hero Pup.)
From their vantage point, the gorilla stood with her back to the other animals and seemed to rock the child back and forth lovingly. She did eventually set hm down and join the other gorillas inside. As the child regained consciousness, zoo staff and paramedics descended the barrier, stabilized him and carried him away to a waiting ambulance. (See: Half Breed Wolf Rescues Elderly Couple From Snowstorm.)
Was Binti Jua A Heroine?
Some say absolutely yes, but others hesitate because that label suggests a purposeful action. According to Craig Demitros, "We can only speculate about her motivation. Was she actually trying to protect the boy from other gorillas? The fact that she had her own baby there on her back also might be a factor. It was fortunate that the child was unconscious. If he had been crying or struggling, she might have seen him as a threat. We were lucky in so many ways that day." (See: Dog Attacks Suicide Bomber.)
Binti Jua Is A Star To This Day
Now a much older gorilla matriarch, Binti Jua is a star in her own right and she attracts many a visitor to the zoo even today. The little boy, who completely recovered and is now a young man, according to Demitros, "is believed to have returned to have returned to the zoo several times after this happened, but anonymously." (See: Tara The Cat.)
Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that this female gorilla saved the life of this little boy. She is always awaiting the visits of her adoring public and may one day soon, start signing autographs!
Good job, Binti, and we can only hope that man's curiosity about getting up close to wild animals may some day be considered as the same kind of cautionary tale as the one about what killed that proverbial cat.
See: Bretagne
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