{"id":8195,"date":"2025-07-01T06:54:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T06:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/?p=8195"},"modified":"2025-07-01T06:54:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T06:54:54","slug":"little-boy-3-unconscious-after-falling-24-feet-into-zoo-enclosure-seconds-later-female-gorilla-picked-him-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/?p=8195","title":{"rendered":"Little Boy, 3, Unconscious After Falling 24 Feet into Zoo Enclosure. Seconds Later, Female Gorilla Picked Him Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>In 1996, Binti Jua, a Western Lowland Gorilla, rescued an unconscious 3-year-old boy who fell into the Brookfield Zoo&#8217;s ape pit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gorilla Carries 3 Year Old Boy to Safety in 1996 Incident\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dOKHpcXovEg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\">It\u2019s been nearly three decades since the world\u2019s hairiest hero burst into public consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\">In 1996, a 3-year-old boy tumbled 24 feet into a gorilla enclosure after sliding through a barrier at a Chicago-area zoo. What happened next was as surprising as it was endearing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-61.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-61.png 640w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-61-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\">Video from the Brookfield Zoo\u2019s Western Lowland Gorilla Pit showed a then-8-year-old gorilla named Binti Jua making her way to the unconscious tot. Onlookers feared the worst, wondering what the 160-lb. great ape would do to the tiny intruder. Binti Jua, who had her own 17-month-old baby clinging to her back, stunned everyone as she carefully picked the lifeless boy up around his waist, cradled him in her arms and carried him to a service door where zoo officials awaited. Upon gingerly putting the child down, she scurried away, Sondra Catzen, a zoo spokeswoman,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2016\/08\/16\/20-years-ago-today-brookfield-zoo-gorilla-helps-boy-who-fell-into-habitat\/\">told the&nbsp;<em>Chicago Tribune&nbsp;<\/em>in 1996<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"685\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-1024x685.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-1024x685.png 1024w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-300x201.png 300w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-768x514.png 768w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-1536x1028.png 1536w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-62-2048x1370.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\">At the time of the incident, six other gorillas were in the exhibit, and zookeepers used a hose to keep them at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_12-0\">The incident garnered international headlines and has been discussed ever since, particularly 20 years later at a Cincinnati Zoo, when another child fell into a gorilla enclosure \u2014 that time, though, things took a much darker turn, as zoo officials&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/harambe-gorilla-shot-killed-boy-fell-into-enclosure-then-drama-really-began-11743767\">shot and killed the 450-lb. gorilla named Harambe<\/a>, who was seen dragging the child.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"859\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-63-859x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-63-859x1024.png 859w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-63-252x300.png 252w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-63-768x915.png 768w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-63.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\">Whereas Harambe was male, Binti Jua was female, which could have factored into the differing results. In the year that followed, many attributed Binti Jua\u2019s actions to her \u201cmotherly instinct.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\">&#8220;She was somewhat protective, too. Part of the video, she takes the child and sort of turns a shoulder to the other gorillas,&#8221; zoo worker Jay Peterson told<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/chicago\/news\/15-years-ago-today-gorilla-rescues-boy-who-fell-in-ape-pit\/\">&nbsp;CBS News in 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"992\" height=\"558\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-64.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-64.png 992w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-64-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-64-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_18-0\">In addition, zookeepers noted that Binti Jua, whose name means &#8220;daughter of sunshine\u201d in Swahili, was born in captivity and raised by humans, so seeing the person in her midst wasn\u2019t completely foreign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_22-0\">The boy, who\u2019s never been publicly named, spent four days in the hospital, but only suffered a broken hand and facial cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-65.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-65.png 1024w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-65-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-65-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"mntl-sc-block_24-0\">In the wake of the five-minute incident, Binti Jua became an ever greater attraction at the zoo and was showered with gifts and letters from around the world. The&nbsp;<em>Chicago Tribune<\/em>&nbsp;reported that several people offered money to adopt Binti Jua, and an Illinois grocer gifted her 25 lbs. of bananas as a means of thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-66-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-66-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-66-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-66-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-66.png 1156w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Binti Jua, who arrived at the Brookfield Zoo in 1991 on a breeding loan from the San Francisco Zoo, still lives in Brookfield\u2019s gorilla exhibit. In March, she celebrated her 37th birthday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1996, Binti Jua, a Western Lowland Gorilla, rescued an unconscious 3-year-old boy who fell into the Brookfield Zoo&#8217;s ape pit It\u2019s been nearly three decades since the world\u2019s hairiest hero burst into public consciousness. In 1996, a 3-year-old boy tumbled 24 feet into a gorilla enclosure after sliding through a barrier at a Chicago-area [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[985,807,800,801],"class_list":["post-8195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal","tag-binti-jua","tag-keynews","tag-topkey-2","tag-topkeynews-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8211,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8195\/revisions\/8211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topkeynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}