A Gorilla Named Bushman

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       A high-wheeled Ford made the trip to the village 150 miles from the American Presbyterian Mission at Yaonde in the Cameroons of West Africa and back over the jungle trail that served as the only road. Dr. W. C. Johnstone, head of the mission, had bought a baby gorilla from the natives of the distant village. This infant, only a few weeks old, weighed slightly more than eight pounds and was so weak and helpless that he could not even turn himself over. A native man named Belinge was hired to care for the baby. Each day Belinge stood in line with the native women who were getting milk from the mission for their own babies, so that his tiny charge could have fresh milk too. This is the first we know of the life of Bushman, the gorilla who later became so famous.

       As Bushman grew, his diet included fresh jungle fruits and berries. Belinge cared for the gorilla for two years, but Dr. Johnstone knew that his pet would soon outgrow the mission's facilities. Bushman was sent to an animal dealer who sold him to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in August, 1930.

       By the time he was little more than two years old, Bushman, a gorilla from the lowland jungles of west-central Africa, had crossed a large section of two continents and an ocean. In his new home he soon became a center of attention and admiration, a position he held until his death twenty-one years later. Bushman seemed to enjoy people as much as they enjoyed him. He was happiest when he had the largest crowds in front of his apartment at the zoo. Most zoo animals must share their cages with others, but not Bushman. He had a two-room suite of his own. For several years he was taken out daily to romp and play with his keeper, but this was stopped as Bushman became larger and stronger. He demonstrated his friendship for his favorite people by offering them bits of food.

       Bushman, like all gorillas, could stand on his hind legs to look around, but when he wanted to move about he walked on his hind feet and front knuckles. Although gorillas live in forested areas, most of their time is spent on the ground. Females and youngsters seem to do a little more climbing than mature males.

       In the zoo Bushman's daily diet included whole-wheat raisin bread, twenty-two pounds of fresh fruit, and three quarts of milk. In the wild he would have eaten even more fruit, berries, and juicy leaves. Wild gorillas live in family groups: one large male, two or three females, and four or five young. If food becomes scarce, gorilla bands may raid local plantations. These occasional raids plus the great strength gorillas can display when provoked have led to many false beliefs about the fierceness of gorillas. Actually, a gorilla (meaning "old man of the forest"), if left alone, is a quiet, peace-loving family animal that will avoid fighting or contact with man whenever it can.

       When full grown, Bushman was about six feet two inches tall and weighed around 550 pounds. Some gorillas have weighed as much as 600 pounds and some have lived longer, but none has been as popular as Bushman. During his final illness newspapers carried daily bulletins on his condition, and when he died on New Year's Day, 1951, the zoo received sympathy cards from all over the world. Worsham.

• Bushman the Gorilla - People can still see this famous animal on exhibition in Chicago Natural History Museum in Hall 22 (Carl E. Akeley Memorial Hall, African Mammals). 

A tense encounter by a tour group

 with a mountain gorilla.