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Binti Jua

by Luke from Michigan

Hero: The word "hero" always rings a bell in a person's head that says, "a hero is a person who has done a good deed to save someone’s life or their pet." I found that the word "hero" in my head means a person or even an animal such as a seeing-eye dog for the blind, or in this case, a gorilla in a zoo that saved a little boy’s life.

Binti Jua is a caring gorilla who lives in the Brookfield Zoo gorilla exhibit. She is one of the most well-known gorillas in the whole world.

On one of the most ordinary days of the year there was a little three year-old boy who was looking at the gorilla exhibit. But when his mom was not looking, he climbed over a fence that was eighteen feet tall and he fell in. The security guards immediately went to find help, but the gorilla got to the boy before them. All of the people saw the gorilla move towards the boy. They were all terrified, but as they watched they saw that the gorilla was not going to hurt the boy. The gorilla was actually helping the little boy.

This gorilla became what you would call "a hero on the spot" because she was just there at the right time; she did not know that this was going to happen.

The people at the zoo have made a special memorial for Binti Jua outside her habitat in the zoo where she is now living.

Page created on 8/22/2005 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 8/22/2005 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.