Binti Jua

Binti Jua is a lifesaving gorilla in Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois. He is a 8-year old gorilla who saved a 3-year old boy who was climbing the railing above the exhibit unsupervised and dropped 18 feet to the floor in the Gorilla exhibit. The zoo workers tried to get to the boy as fast as they could but Binti Jua got there first. Her own child Koola held on tight through the whole situation.

She also carried the boy to the humans so they could care for him. Binti Jua was born in 1988 in Columbus Zoo. She took part in won of the most successful breeding programs ever. Her parents LuLu and Sunshine were from the San Francisco Zoo  and the Bronx Zoo.

Her aunt lives in the Gorilla Foundation in California. She is famous for her intelligence about American sign language. That she uses to communicate with humans or her gorilla friend, Michael. Binti Jua was hand reared at the San Francisco Zoo in 1988.

Hand reared animals most likely don't have the mothering skills for when they're older. Animals who are not hand reared usually learn those skills naturally in the wild. So, in 1991 she was transferred to Chicago Zoo to be trained for motherhood. She has learned very good as she is a mother.

Binti Jua saved the boy by instinct when she saw him on the floor motionless. She helped as much as she could. The little boy was only in the hospital for 4 days.