Binti Jua was born in 1988 at the Columbus Zoo, which has one of the most successful gorilla breeding programs in the country. Her father, Sunshine, was from the San Francisco Zoo and her mother, Lulu, was from the Bronx Zoo. Binti's Aunt, Koko (Sunshine's older sister), lives at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, California. She is famous for her extensive knowledge of American Sign Language, which she uses to communicate with humans and her Gorilla-friend, Michael.

Binti Jua was hand-reared at the San Francisco Zoo. Hand-reared animals often lack the mothering skills they would have obtained in the wild, so in 1991 she was moved to Chicago to be trained for motherhood. Binti Jua seems to have learned her lessons well. The little boy Binti Jua saved spent 4 days in the hospital and was then released. Binti Jua's gentleness made her a hero.