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| The angry gorilla misunderstood in the past. |
Below is an account of the first meeting between a French-American zoologist, Paul Du Chaillu, and gorilla. His biography.
''The largest and most formidable of the ape tribe is the Gorilla. The animal is black, with dark gray eyes. For many years the reports of these terrible beasts had reached Europe, giving the impression that it was a myth or legend of the slave-traders. Travelers who returned to Europe brought news of a gigantic race of hairy savages living on the west coast of Africa. Then Paul Du Chaillu, the great explorer, brought home a true account of the huge ape, which evidently some imaginative natives had taken to be a race of men; but even then the truth was doubted. At last Du Chaillu brought home the skin and skeleton of a gorilla. This set all suspicions at rest. The specimen was found to stand nearly six feet high, with shoulders three feet wide, and arms that reached almost to the ground ; but, above all things, stood out the unsurpassed strength of these apes.
In the hunting-ground Dr. Chaillu was surprised to find complete silence over everything. Calling to mind the sayings of the natives, that nothing could live near the gorilla, he found no birds in the forest, and even the noisy tree-frogs were silent. The hunters assured him that these signs meant that the game must be near. After walking in single file through the forest for awhile, they stopped to consult, and noticed that the gun-carrier, who was the last man of the party, was missing. Before any questions could be asked, the man's dead body suddenly fell from the branches far above them. They had passed right under where a gorilla was sitting, and with its hind foot it had gripped up the last man and killed him. This proved to be a favorite trick that the gorilla plays on the natives, who always held that the great ape was more to be feared than the lion.
The gorilla in this instance broke cover with a roar, and made off through the branches with astonishing speed, in spite of its great bulk and weight.
A female and young one were found, and a great battle began. One hunter had his gun snatched from him by the brute, and Du Chaillu was astounded to see it bent and twisted in the creature's hand like a cane. The female showed an immense store of vitality, for after being shot several times she still fought. When at last she could not rise, the young one threw itself upon its mother's breast with a strangely human cry. This baby gorilla was brought to England and caged with a bull terrier, with whom it made great friends ; but in spite of all the care and attention it died.
Another illustration of the enormous strength of the gorilla is the escape of a specimen which had been shipped to England, and placed in the Zoological Gardens. The keeper had closed up for the night, never doubting but that his charge was safe. The next morning he was astonished to find that the extra strong steel-bars of the cage had been wrenched apart, and the occupant was nowhere to be seen. When the news leaked out a panic ensued in the Garden; but the gorilla was found in the tunnel under the roadway. The strong cage that it had been brought in was still handy, and the huge beast was coaxed into it once more.''
We understand the gorilla so much more today because of the detailed accounts of Dian Fossey.
