EXCLUSIVE I cheated death when I fell into a gorilla enclosure aged five. It shaped my life forever... and what happened next was heartbreaking

Daily Mail​

14 hours ago

It was a moment of heart-stopping drama - a five-year-old boy falls into a gorilla enclosure at a zoo and lies unconscious on the ground as a huge silverback approaches.
With his horrified parents watching on helplessly and onlookers shouting for assistance, the silverback stretches out his gigantic arm and everyone holds their breath.
And then to the astonishment of everyone, Jambo the 18 stone gorilla, gently strokes the back of the motionless child then sits to act as a protective guard against the other gorillas.
It is almost four decades since that moment was captured on a tourist video camera and went round the world, gripping viewers across the globe.
It is a moment which changed our understanding of the huge primates and how they interact with humans.
It is also an incident that will forever colour the life of Levan Merritt, now 44.
He is hoping to return to Jersey Zoo next year to mark the 40th anniversary.
'It will be with me forever,' said Levan. 'Although I could remember nothing of the actual incident I can remember the aftermath and everything that followed in the months and years afterwards.
In heart-stopping footage, as Levan lay sprawled out on the ground, Jambo the gorilla and other gorillas in the pit were filmed coming to inspect the little boy as he lay on the ground
'People are always fascinated to hear about the story and to watch the video clip. It has always given me a bit of celebrity. Often my friends tell people and they are stunned.'
Now a father-of-three, Levan, who works in garden maintenance, says that although the momentous event happened when he was just five years old, it has defined his life in many ways.
'I loved animals back then, especially wild animals, and I still do. I'm a big animal lover and so are my kids.
'We have visited London Zoo and gone to Longleat Safari Park a number of times as well as local zoos around here. It's something I am still interested in but I think they are as well.'
He said his three children, Leo, 12, Riley, 11 and Hope, nine loved visiting zoos and seeing animals though they were a little bored by his dramatic story, which they have heard many times.
'It gets a bit boring for them now. Some people can still remember the clip but I don't tell people about it so much anymore. Some neighbours and friends know but some don't.'
The terrifying incident unfolded in the summer of 1986, when the Merritt family, from Horsham, West Sussex had taken a trip to Jersey for a summer holiday.
Along with his older brother Clint, 8, sister Stephanie, 10, and parents Stephen, 34, and Pauline, 28, Levan had visited the zoo to celebrate the birthday of his youngest sibling, Lloyd, who was turning 4.
Little did he know his trip to the zoo, on the first day of their holiday, would be broadcast around the world and catapult Jambo to international stardom overnight.
Initially the children had been interested in the spider monkeys and Levan remembered 'finding it funny as one of them peed on my Dad.'
But as they continued around the zoo the three boys became fascinated by the gorilla enclosure which was dominated by a 18 stone 7ft silverback called Jambo.
Pestering his dad for a better view Levan clambered on his father's shoulders and leant over the wall.
'We were just boys being boys, I suppose,' he said. 'I just wanted to get a better view of them so I was leaning over a bit and then suddenly I went.'
He lost his balance, toppled from his father's shoulders and fell 20ft into the enclosure.
Landing on a cement floor he was lucky to be alive, but he had knocked himself out, fractured his skull and snapped his arm.
As he lay motionless on the ground, the 7ft tall 18 stone silverback male slowly approached him.
After stroking his back the gorilla stood guard over Levan, placing himself between the boy and the other gorillas in a protective gesture.
A nerve-jangling minute or two later Levan began to regain consciousness and began to cry.
As his family screamed at him to remain still, his sobs caused the gorillas to retreat in panic and Jambo led them into the enclosure house in the pen.
But when the gate was closing, a younger gorilla called Hobbit rushed out of a second pen and charged towards the group.
A brave keeper grabbed a stick and stood between the gorilla and Levan even when the ape rushed at him aggressively.
At was at this point that an ambulanceman and another zoo keeper stepped in and rescued Levan in a dramatic escape.
Rescuers hauled Levan up on a stretcher and he was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital.
While a dramatic event such as this today would be uploaded to social media within minutes, in 1986 it was filmed on a £1,300 Sony CCD-V8 by Brian Le Lion - in what was a relatively rare phenomenon at the time.
It was only the next day, when Levan was lying on his hospital bed, the family watched back the incredible footage.
Levan's mother, Pauline told MailOnline of her memories of that day, recalling: 'When Levan slipped into the pen, I started shouting and screaming and I was led away to the zoo cafe, while Stephen stayed put. Luckily they managed to get him out.
'It was only the next day we saw what had happened. One of the nurses had seen it on breakfast TV and asked us 'have you seen this?' knowing that we were the family who had been involved.
'That was the first time I saw it and to be honest I couldn't actually believe what I was seeing.'
Suffering from a badly fractured skull and a broken forearm, Levan spent the next six weeks in hospital.
He had a metal plate inserted into his skull and also had to wait for his arm to properly heal.
When he did finally return to normal life and go back to school he faced another challenge.
The video clip had been beamed to news channels across the world and brought a certain celebrity to Levan and some schoolchildren were jealous of the attention he received.
He was mercilessly bullied at Tanbridge House in East Sussex with children calling him 'gorilla boy' and 'monkey man' and 'metal brain.'
'I wasn't allowed to do any physical sports like rugby or football and that singled me out as well.'
'It was horrendous,' said Levan. 'They didn't like that I'd had all this attention so they took it out on me. It was unpleasant but the school took it seriously and sorted it out.'
'My family were quite shocked by it all. But the worst affected was Stephanie. She was 10 at the time and the oldest and felt responsible in some way. She still can't watch the video even after all these years. I think she feels guilty in some way. I suppose it is upsetting to watch.'
The events that could have left such traumatic scars have done nothing to diminish his love of animals - including gorillas.
Following his recovery, his family was invited back to the zoo and he has maintained links with them ever since. He has returned on more than 10 occasions.
In 1992, he cut the ribbon to celebrate the unveiling of a bronze statue of Jambo following the death of the gorilla at the age of 31.
He said: 'It was really nice to go back when the statue was unveiled. It was me saying thank you for what he had done.'
Levan also returned to the zoo on the 20th anniversary of the event where he was reunited with former ambulanceman Brian Fox, who helped lift him to safety.
He said he was 'proud' to have helped change public perceptions of gorillas from dangerous King Kong beasts to gentle giants.
Levan, who split from his wife Amanda, several years ago said he has tried to instil respect and interest in the animal kingdom in his own children.
'I'd really like to take my children to the zoo next year to mark the 40th anniversary. That would be brilliant.'
JAMBO THE GORILLA
Jambo (pronounced 'Yambo') was born on April 17, 1961 at the Basle Zoologischer Garteen in Switzerland. He weighed only about 4 pounds.
Jambo is Swahili for 'Hello' or 'How are you?'
Jambo was unique as he was the first male gorilla to be born in captivity and was also the first captive-born gorilla to be reared by his mother (Achilla).
This famous gorilla sired a total of up to 17 baby gorillas from five different mates.
Jambo died on September 16, 1992, from a rupture of the major artery, resulting in a chest haemorrhage.
A life-size bronze sculpture of Jambo was erected after his death and he was commemorated on a special Jersey £1 stamp in 2012.