by Ben Holt
‘Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.’
George Eliot
‘There is in all animals a sense of duty that man condescends to call instinct.’
Robert Brault
NOT SO WILD AT HEART
The stories in this chapter show that animals we may normally consider to be wild, even dangerous, are capable of showing compassion and behaving in a gentle, helpful way towards those weaker than themselves, whether they be animals or people. Many of these stories happen to be set in zoos, but that does not mean the animals concerned are in any way tame or domesticated. Their heroic deeds call to mind fictional characters such as gentle giant King Kong and the story of the lion that lay down with the lamb.
JAMBO
In August 1986, a visit to the zoo turned into a terrifying ordeal for the father of one five-year-old boy…
Jambo was a male lowland gorilla born on 17 April 1961 in a zoo in Basel, Switzerland, and was the first gorilla to be born and raised by his mother in captivity. He was transferred to Jersey Zoo, founded by Gerald Durrell, on 27 April 1972, where he was to become the star attraction following a famous incident.
On 31 August 1986, visitors to Jersey Zoo were enjoying watching Jambo and his family, who had gathered beneath the wall of the gorilla enclosure. The wall stood at about chest level to an adult, and so Steve Merritt, who was visiting the zoo on holiday from the UK with his wife and two children, lifted his young son Levan onto the wall to get a better look. He had only turned away for a moment when Levan toppled forwards and fell into the enclosure. Hitting the concrete around the edge he lost consciousness immediately. His father could only look on, terrified, as Jambo the big silverback approached his little boy. Gorillas are known for their territorial nature, and he felt sure his son would be torn to pieces. But then Jambo did something that changed people’s opinions of gorillas forever.
The curious gorilla bent to look down at the boy, then gently stroked the skin on his back and sniffed his fingers to get the boy’s scent. Turning his back to Levan he squared up to the other inquisitive members of his family, making it clear that they were to come no nearer. Jambo stood guard over the prone figure of the boy in this way for a while longer, until he came round. Members of the crowd shouted out to the boy to stay down and keep quiet and still. But when the frightened Levan began to cry, Jambo became unnerved, and led his family away and into their house at the back of the enclosure.
Levan wasn’t out of danger yet. As the gate to the house was closing, a younger male gorilla named Hobbit shot out and ran over towards the boy in a territorial display. At this point two of the keepers jumped down into the enclosure and, armed only with a stick, kept the angry young male at bay. Paramedic Brian Fox was lowered in next, and tended to the injured boy, who had a fractured skull and a broken arm, and was bleeding heavily. Realising that he urgently needed medical attention, Brian called out to be winched up over the enclosure wall with the boy.
The whole episode was captured on home video by Brian Le Lion, and photographed by many other onlookers there that day. Jambo was hailed as a hero – not just for his gentle actions towards the vulnerable boy, but for helping to ease the public’s fears about the violent nature of gorillas. Jambo went on to sire many of his own children, several of which are still alive in zoos around the world today. He died on 16 September 1992, and his life story was recounted in the book Jambo – A Gorilla’s Story, by his keeper Richard Johnstone-Scott. A bronze statue of Jambo was erected inside Jersey Zoo as a tribute to this magnificent beast that helped to change public perception of the species for the better.
Binti
At the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, a female lowland gorilla named Binti Jua was involved in a similar incident. Binti’s own baby, Koola, was just 17 months old on 16 August 1996, when a three-year-old boy fell 24 feet into the gorilla compound of the zoo’s Primate World, where Binti and several other adult gorillas were on display.
Binti approached the unconscious boy, and when another female came over she growled at her, keeping her at bay. Next, with Koola already firmly attached to her back, she gently picked up the boy and cradled him in her arms. As touching as this display of maternal instinct was, it was what Binti did next that really showed her intelligence. Onlookers around the enclosure were astonished to see the seven-year-old gorilla carry the boy 60 feet to an access door and set him gently down, where the keepers were able to safely retrieve him. Thanks to Binti’s actions the boy was kept safe, and could be taken to hospital where he received medical attention and made a full recovery within four days.
Binti was the niece of Koko, who became world famous in the 1970s for her ability to communicate with humans through the use of American Sign Language, and when Dr Francine ‘Penny’ Patterson, director of The Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, California, showed footage of the rescue to Koko, the older gorilla seemed impressed. ‘She answered “lip”, her word for girl, and “good” when asked what Binti had done,’ said Penny.
GIMPY
A rescued elephant seal pup in California became the star attraction when she determinedly protected her keeper…
In 1994, an injured elephant seal pup was brought into the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur, California. This hospital for ill, injured and orphaned marine mammals has been caring for rescued California sea lions, northern elephant seals, harbour seals and northern fur seals since 1992.
It was touch and go for the latest admission for a while, but staff at the centre were relieved when she made a full recovery. Christened Gimpy, the pup went on to become a firm favourite among visitors and the local community, and was known as a ‘gentle giant’ – at over 150 pounds, she was certainly no lightweight.
Volunteer Hugh Ryono was particularly fond of Gimpy, and she would often be at his side while he was at work in the seal enclosure. One day as he was feeding the elephant seal pups, he slipped and fell heavily onto the deck. Gathering his wits he looked up – just in time to see three aggressive pups moving at speed towards him.
Hugh was unable to move and was sure that he was about to be mauled but, just as he reached for his protective board, something extraordinary happened. Gimpy rushed to his side and placed herself firmly between him and the approaching pups, forming a living shield of seal blubber and forcing them back. Later, Hugh expressed his relief that she had been there that day – and had no doubt that she had saved him from a brutal mauling.
ETHIOPIAN LIONS
In Ethiopia, a girl was saved by an unlikely group of rescuers…
In June 2005, The Guardian published an intriguing article about a kidnapping in Ethiopia. In the remote southwest of the country, a gang of men had abducted a girl of 12 and were intent on forcing her into a marriage. They held her for a week, beating her repeatedly in order to break her will – not an uncommon occurrence in the area, where young girls are often beaten and then raped.
Fortunately for this one, out of nowhere three lions arrived at the scene and chased the men away. They then stood guard over the terrified, shocked and battered girl, until she was found by the police. Sergeant Wondimu Wendaju of Kefa province said: ‘If the lions had not come then it could have been much worse.’ The police managed to catch four of the men, but were still on the hunt for the other three.
But what could have caused the lions to act in this protective manner? A wildlife expert from the rural development ministry, Stuart Williams, suggested that the lions could have mistaken the girl’s cries for the mewing sound that a lion cub makes, which could explain why they didn’t eat her, although why they would rush to her aid and face down seven men remains a mystery.
A wolf among the sheep
Farmer Tomo Spudic from Netretic, Croatia, discovered his pet wolf would protect his sheep from other wolves. He had been given a wolf cub by a friend who thought it was a husky dog. When it turned out to be a wolf he kept it anyway, and named it Vucka. A year later he came up
with the idea of using Vucka to protect his sheep, and put him to work in the field with his prize flock. He soon found that Vucka not only left the sheep unscathed, remarkably, but was much more effective at keeping other wolves at bay than a dog would be, since a dog would be prone to attack from wolves. ‘Nothing attacks Vucka,’ the savvy farmer proudly proclaimed.
NINGNONG
When the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 hit the coast of Thailand, one little girl made a lucky escape…
In December 2004, eight-year-old Amber Mason of Milton Keynes was enjoying the holiday of a lifetime with her family in the Thai resort of Phuket. Unaware of the danger building out in the Indian Ocean, where a level 9.3 earthquake had struck, Amber’s parents watched as their daughter took an elephant ride.
Unusually for the four-year-old elephant Ningnong, she became unsettled and began to act strangely. As the water suddenly ebbed back from the beach the elephant took off, running up the beach and taking Amber with her. When the powerful tsunami swept into land, Ningnong was soon up to her shoulders in water – but Amber was safe on her back.
Back at home, Amber said how lucky she felt. ‘I think Ningnong thought something was wrong and was trying to get off the beach.’ Amber’s parents had fled from the devastating wave along with so many others and had been terrified that they had lost their daughter. Sam, Amber’s mother, afterwards had no doubt that the elephant was responsible for saving her little girl’s life: ‘If she had been on the beach on her own or with us on the beach, she would never have lived. The elephant took the pounding of the wave.’
To show their gratitude, the Mason family pledged to pay £30 a month to Ningnong’s owner for the hero elephant’s upkeep.
TUK
A polar bear had an unexpected visitor to his enclosure at the zoo one day…
One day in 1983, visitors were gathered around the polar bear enclosure at Stanley Park Zoo in Vancouver, Canada, watching the zoo’s most famous resident, a polar bear named Tuk. He wasn’t doing much of interest, though – just lying stretched out and having a nap, when suddenly a young man ran up and threw a kitten over the wall and into the polar bear’s pool.
Onlookers watched, horrified, as the poor little creature struggled in the freezing water then began to sink. Just then, Tuk rose from his slumber, stretched and slid into the pool after the kitten. A few moments later he surfaced, with the kitten held gently in his teeth, almost as a mother cat carries her young. Emerging from the pool he lay down with the bedraggled animal between his front paws and proceeded to lick it dry. Tuk kept the kitten warm in this way until keepers were able to retrieve it: the gentle bear had saved its life.
In December 1997 Tuk died at the age of 36 – he was the last remaining animal at the zoo, having stayed behind due to his old age, and with his passing the zoo closed its doors for the last time.
SHOOTER
An unusual candidate stepped up for lifeguard duty at a zoo in Idaho…
One day in June 2011, volunteer Joy Fox was at work at Pocatello Zoo, Idaho, when she noticed one of the residents behaving rather strangely. Shooter, a four-year-old male elk, had come up to the drinking tank in his enclosure and begun pawing at the water and then circling the tank. Not sure what to make of this, Joy grabbed her camera and captured a remarkable incident.
After continuing in this way for about fifteen minutes, Shooter managed to manoeuvre his antlers so that he could reach into the water and pull something out in his mouth. Joy was amazed to see the elk lift a yellow-bellied marmot clear of the tank and then put it on the ground, where he nuzzled and pawed at it gently with his hoof. Eventually the soggy – and no doubt somewhat bewildered – marmot came round and scampered off.
Zoo officials were stunned by the events, and zoo superintendent Scott Ransom said: ‘It’s hard to tell if he was helping or didn’t like the animal swimming in his water.’ But colleague Kate O’Conner felt sure the elk had acted with intent to save the rodent: ‘… we saw it down on the ground and he was nudging it and it was moving. He deliberately took that animal out of the tank,’ she said.
Wild marmots are a common sight on zoo grounds, and following the incident staff decided to install safety ramps on the larger drinking tanks to avoid the same thing happening again. A week after the story was published in the local media, Google had tracked nearly two million hits on the story and Ransom had received calls for information on the rescue from newsrooms throughout the United States and abroad.
THEIR LIVES DEPEND ON US
Sadly, many wild animals are under threat due to poaching, people encroaching on their habitat and the effect of man’s activities on the global climate. As magnificent and powerful as animals such as gorillas and polar bears are, they cannot survive indefinitely in the face of such an onslaught. If future generations are to enjoy more stories of animals’ exploits, such as those featured in this book, and their benefit to the human race, then we must strive to protect them. Even the tiniest creature is precious, and while a funny-looking bug or a worm might not have the ability to save a human from drowning or boost the morale of soldiers in war, it still deserves its place in the world and contributes invaluably to the ecosystem in which it exists. There are many organisations and charities that strive to safeguard the world’s wildlife, each with its own inspiring story to tell – a few of which have been mentioned below...
• DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST – was founded by world-famous author and naturalist Gerald Durrell, who had a vision of creating a ‘stationary ark’ where endangered animals could be bred in captivity. Based at its headquarters in Jersey it works with partners all over the world and has made a significant contribution to safeguarding more than 30 species. Part of that mission has been to create ‘Durrell’s Army’: wildlife conservationists from all over the world who are trained in Jersey and go back to their own countries to save animals for themselves.
• WWF – the world’s leading independent environmental organisation, the World Wildlife Fund works to protect not only endangered species but also their environments. It additionally works with governments to tackle climate change. Set up in Switzerland in 1961, it has grown into a truly global organisation.
• BORN FREE – after starring in Born Free, the film that told the true story of Joy and George Adamson’s fight to return Elsa the lioness to the wild, Virginia McKenna decided to set up an organisation with the vision of keeping wildlife in the wild. It works with animals in their natural habitat, encouraging people to live peacefully alongside wildlife, and rescues animals that have been confined in inhumane conditions. Its ultimate aim is for zoos to be phased out and for all wild animals to be able to live in their natural environments.
Did you know…
… that fishing is central to the livelihood and food security of 200 million people, especially in the developing world, and that one in five people on the planet depends on fish as their primary source of protein? That makes over-fishing a major threat not just to the species of fish affected but to the lives of millions of people.
‘All over the world the wildlife that I write about is in grave danger. It is being exterminated by what we call the progress of civilization.’
Gerald Durrell
‘Who will raise their voice when mine is carried away on the wind?’
George Adamson
USEFUL RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity, devoted to compassionate conservation and animal welfare. It takes action worldwide to protect threatened species and stop individual animal suffering. Born Free believes wildlife belongs in the wild and works to phase out zoos. It rescues animals from lives of misery in tiny cages and gives them lifetime care, and also works with local communities to help people and wildlife live together without conflict. Every year, Born Free helps hundreds of thousands of animals worldwide.
Telephone: 01403 240 170
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.bornfree.org.uk
Cats Protection
Cats Protection is the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and helps over 193,000 unwanted cats and kittens through a national network of 253 volunteer-run branches and 29 adoption centres. The charity’s vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.
National helpline: 03000 121212
Website: www.cats.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Dogs for the Disabled
Dogs for the Disabled is a pioneering charity that trains dogs to carry out a range of practical tasks to assist disabled children and adults in order to achieve greater independence. The charity also provides a programme to support parents of autistic children. Since 1988 the charity has trained more than 400 partnerships.
Telephone: 01295 252 600
Website: www.dogsforthedisabled.org
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international charity working globally towards our mission of saving species from extinction. Committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of the life on earth, Durrell has developed a worldwide reputation for its pioneering conservation techniques.
Telephone: 01534 860 000
Website: www.durrell.org
Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary
The Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, Inc., is a small non-profit organisation founded by Eve and Norman Fertig, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior. Eve and Norman personally care for sick, injured, orphaned and distressed wildlife and prepare them for survival and return to the wild.
