Jambo: the gorilla that shielded a child

On August 31, 1986, five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Jersey Zoo. The boy lost consciousness, and an adult male, Jambo, was the first to approach him.

Amateur footage shows Jambo gently touching the child and staying beside him. He stands between Levan and the other gorillas, keeping them away from him. This is precisely how the zoo itself describes the incident.

When the boy regained consciousness and began to cry, Jambo walked away. The staff led the gorillas away, allowing rescuers to climb down into the enclosure. Among them was ambulance officer Brian Fox.

Levan suffered a fractured skull and a broken arm in the fall. He was taken to the hospital and then transferred to Southampton. He made a full recovery. As an adult, Merritt recounted that he first saw the footage while still in the hospital and could hardly believe that it had happened to him.

Jambo had lived on Jersey since 1972, having been transferred there from the Basel Zoo. He was the silverback of the family group and fathered many offspring. Keeper Richard Johnstone-Scott later recalled that the story with the child helped change people's attitudes toward gorillas.

Jambo died in 1992. A bronze statue of him was erected at the zoo. After recovering, Levan returned to Jersey; years later, he still spoke of his gratitude to the gorilla he had ended up next to that day.