Latest news with #gorilla
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I cheated death when I fell into a gorilla enclosure aged five. It shaped my life forever... and what happened next was heartbreaking
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.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
How Garcia, Usyk, Tyson, and the UFC responded to ‘100 men vs a gorilla'
It started with a tweet from internet personality MrBeast at the end of April. Posting to the platform now known as X, the YouTuber also known as Jimmy Donaldson and famous for his elaborate stunts, asked whether there were any volunteers – one hundred, specifically – to test a hypothetical scenario involving one hundred man and a primate. The tweet went immediately viral. As of Tuesday 13 May, it has notched up 51.4m views, 39,000 comments, 616,000 likes, and 23,000 bookmarks. Despite much of what MrBeast posting going viral, this tweet hit particularly hard; the tweet before it received only 15,000 likes and its successor just 123,000 likes in comparison. While many on social media debated the question, questioning whether they would be one of the hundred or which hundred men it would take, or the odds of their survival, some in the boxing world shrugged and gave their thoughts online. Chris Eubank Jr Eubank, who defeated Conor Benn two weeks ago, listed ten fighters that he thought would be most helpful in taking down the gorilla. Eubank listed Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Chris Eubank Sr, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Tyson Fury, and himself. And the result? 'I believe the ten of us together would eviscerate that gorilla,' said Eubank. The UFC The UFC's official Instagram account asked a host of fighters within that promotion about fighting the gorilla. The results were surprisingly mixed. While some questioned the wisdom of fighting a 600lb creature without a weapon, the UFC's bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili said he could handle the situation entirely by himself. 'One gorilla?' he said. 'That's easy, bro. I'm smart. I'm strong. I'm training every day. You think I can't take one gorilla!?" 'I'm going to shoot,' he added, 'and take him down. Easy!' Oleksandr Usyk Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk said his two sons would beat the gorilla. Otherwise, he said that he would have no need of the other 99 men. The Ukrainian said that he would be enough to defeat the gorilla by himself. Mike Tyson When asked about a fight between a hundred versions of himself and one gorilla, the former 'Baddest Man on the Planet' had a quite-colourful answer. Tyson said to iFL TV: 'the gorilla's going to get ****ed up. You have to think. One hundred of us, with twenty of us at a time rushing him? Fighting him, biting him? He's not going to do well. We're going to stomp his teeth out of his mouth? Kick him in the balls. Grab his ****.' 'Get out of here,' Tyson concluded. This is not the first time that Mike Tyson has considered fighting a gorilla. He gave an interview to a newspaper a few years ago when he confessed that he had offered a zookeeper $10,000 to let him fight a gorilla. He said: '"When we got to the gorilla cage, there was one big silverback gorilla there just bullying all the other gorillas. They were so powerful, but their eyes were like an innocent infant. I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let me smash that silverback's snotbox! He declined.' Ryan Garcia Ryan Garcia said that the boxers would win. 'We'd find a way,' he said, wisely. 'Whoever is on the frontlines – we thank you! I'm not going first!'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Internet Is Praising Robert Irwin's "Compassionate" Response To 100 Men Vs A Gorilla Debate
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X are infested with debates, think pieces, and jokes about who would win in a fight between 100 men versus a gorilla. Honestly, I was steering clear of this ridiculous hypothetical question until Robert Irwin joined the conversation, or shall I say, conservation? Robert is the 21-year-old son of the late Australian zookeeper and beloved conservationist, Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter. Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images, Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Recently, Robert went viral for stripping down to nothing but his Bonds undies to advocate for wildlife conservation, and it certainly got everyone's attention. The photographer and legacy zookeeper also announced that he will be on Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, so it wasn't surprising that he would join a viral pop culture moment. I believe his response is the most reasonable one I've heard yet. Robert shared a video on his Instagram, saying, "I have been asked this question so much in the last week, it's ridiculous," he said. "Like, I'm getting asked in the street now." "Who would win, 100 people or a gorilla?" Robert asked. Related: 18 Times Celebs Spent An Embarrassing Amount Of Money On Something That Wound Up Totally Useless "First of all, I dunno, gorillas are strong, mate. Like, really strong. But it's 100 people. I'm not sure. Just as an animal conservationist, fighting an endangered species just doesn't sit right with me." "How many people does it take to save gorillas, that is the question we should be asking, because there's not many of them left," Robert asked. According to Endangered Species International, "In recent decades gorilla populations have been affected by habitat loss, disease and poaching. Subsequently all gorilla species are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)." Most subspecies of gorillas in Africa, like the Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Mountain Gorilla, and Western Lowland Gorilla, are either endangered or critically endangered. We should take heed of Robert's words and ask how 100 people can help preserve their existence over fighting them. "Anyway, the one thing that people aren't really saying in this whole discussion — yes, gorillas are super powerful, all of that, but also, they're pretty chilled," Robert continued. "Most of the time, they kind of just keep to themselves. They'll defend themselves and protect each other and all of that, but if they don't really have a reason, they kind of just do their thing." Related: 28 Celebs Who Never Seem To Get Canceled Despite Some Pretty Awful Behavior "I guess what I'm trying to say is we don't need to fight gorillas. Maybe let's just let this one remain a mystery." The internet is in love with Robert's take on the 100 men vs. a gorilla debate: One person said, "In summary: Fighting an endangered species is not chic 😂." "This is the most Irwin-coded response I could've imagined 😂❤️ Protect this family at all cost!" another person exclaimed. This person asked the real hard-hitting question: "Wait, is it 100 humans or 100 Roberts because that changes the outcome dramatically." Another person said, "How many people does it take to save gorillas? You ateeee." "This is why we ask you the questions because you always respond with compassion 💖," another user responded. Finally, this person said, "Robert Irwin is the voice of reason the world needs. 🥰" Take the dude who wrangled crocodiles since he was a little kid's advice — let's move on from the fighting gorilla debate. Protect the endangered species! BuzzFeed Community, I want to see if you can come up with your own widely hypothetical questions in the comments, and let's talk about it. Show me how your brain works. If you want to remain anonymous, use the Google form below. Also in Celebrity: Amidst His Legal Battle With Blake Lively, A New Interview With Justin Baldoni Just Dropped — And His Comments Are Raising Some Eyebrows Also in Celebrity: 13 Celebs Whose Awful Met Gala Experiences Low-Key Make Me Glad I'm Too Irrelevant To Ever Be Invited Also in Celebrity: 15 Celebs Who Went From 'Wait, They Did WHAT?!' Normal Jobs To Massive Fame
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Steve Irwin's son Robert weighs in with wild take on viral '100 men vs one gorilla' debate
Steve Irwin's son Robert Irwin has weighed in on the viral '100 men vs one gorilla' debate that has been taking the internet by storm. The animal conservationist, 21, said he 'couldn't believe' he was chiming in on the conversation after being asked the question repeatedly - even being stopped by people on the street. The question - 'who would win in a fight of 100 men vs one gorilla?' - has been swirling in recent days with multiple experts and celebrities sharing their theories. Irwin began in a TikTok: 'Gorillas are strong mate, like really strong. But it's 100 people, I'm not sure. 'As an animal conservationist, fighting an endangered species doesn't sit right with me. 'How many people does it take to save gorillas? That's the question we should be asking because there aren't many of them left.' He then brought up another point - unless gorillas are provoked, they wouldn't be quick to fight. 'Gorillas are pretty chill. Most of the time they kind of just keep to themselves,' he explained. 'They defend themselves and protect each other and all of that, but if they don't have a reason, they kind of just do their thing. 'We don't need to fight gorillas! Maybe let's just let this one remain a mystery.' The animal-lover is amongst other celebrities including Mike Tyson, who also weighed in on the viral question. Speaking to IFLTV boxing, the boxer was asked if 100 Mike Tysons would stand a chance against a full-size gorilla. 'The gorilla's gonna get f***ed up,' claimed Tyson. 'Because you have to think, no serious. 'A hundred of us right, 20 at a time rushing him, biting him, get that motherf**ker, he's not gonna do well. 'We're gonna stomp his teeth out of his mouth, kick him in the b**ls, grab his d**k, he's not going to do it. 'I don't know what to tell you what we'd do to that gorilla. A hundred of me? Get out of here!' Tyson's prediction may well have been tested decades ago when he unsuccessfully tried to take on a gorilla in New York City. World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksander Usyk also chimed in saying he could do it single-handed, while Elon Musk volunteered to be one of the 100 men when YouTube star Mr Beast asked for volunteers. Tara Stoinski, president and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, told USA TODAY that 'the numbers game really works in favor of the people.' '[I think] in terms of kind of being able to prolong a battle that could eventually wear a gorilla out, and our, you know, our ability to really cooperate and coordinate, I think those two elements kind of work against a gorilla's favor,' Stoinski said. He added: 'I've seen in some places, "Oh, they're 25 times stronger than a human being." I've just seen these numbers that I don't know if they're based in reality.' 'So, I do wonder, a little bit, if there's been some over-exaggeration of the size and strength of gorillas, but that is not to dismiss the fact that they are very strong.'
