Willie B.

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Statue of Willie B. at the Atlanta Zoo

Willie B. (* 1958 in Africa ; † February 2, 2000 in Atlanta ) was a male western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) who lived in the Atlanta Zoo . There it was one of the most famous and popular attractions. At times he was considered one of the most famous residents of Atlanta.

Life

After being captured in Africa, Willie B. was brought to the Atlanta Zoo as a cub in 1961 . It was named after the town's mayor , William B. Hartsfield . He spent the next 27 years of his life in an indoor enclosure. From 1981, the apathetic and overweight animal was given a television set to reduce its isolation. This was preceded by complaints about the zoo management and the unsuitable animal husbandry . The zoo was considered one of the worst zoos in the United States in the early 1980s. For a fundamental restructuring of the zoo Willie B. came in May 1988 in it for 4.5 million dollars newly built outdoor enclosure Ford African Rain Forest , accounting for ten percent of the former zoo area. This was his first time outdoors since arriving at the zoo.

In the next few years more gorillas came into the enclosure. Despite his longtime isolation, Willie B. quickly fitted into the social fabric of the group and became the father of four daughters, Kudzoo, Olympia, Sukari and Lulu, and a son Kidogo. As a silverback he took over the leadership of the group. At the beginning of January 2000, Willie B. fell ill with influenza , which was followed by pneumonia . He died of cardiomyopathy in February of that year at the age of 41 . More than 7000 people attended the memorial event held by the zoo management. The funeral speech was given by civil rights activist and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young .

"And in setting him free, perhaps we sat ourselves free to help us learn that we can live together in peace with all of the animal that God has created."

- Andrew Young

A bronze statue in a small garden near the gorilla enclosure and a plaque commemorate Willie B. The statue is the work of the sculptor Edwin A. Bogucki and contains the ashes of the gorilla. In 2008 his life was filmed for the documentary Andrew Young Presents: Willie B. - The Greatest Ape . In 1998 the Atlanta Ruckus were renamed the Atlanta Silverbacks .

literature

  • Elizabeth Hanson: Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos (Princeton University Press, 2002)
  • Geoff Hosey, Vicky Melfi, Sheila Pankhurst: Zoo Animals: Behavior, Management, and Welfare (Oxford University Press, 2013)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gorilla Willie B. dies at 41 in Atlanta , February 3, 2000, The Seattle Times
  2. ^ A b Jennifer Goad Cuthbertson, Philip M. Cuthbertson: Historic Grant Park (Arcadia Publishing, 2011)
  3. ↑ a b c Famed Atlanta resident who ate bananas comes to TV , August 5, 2008, USA Today
  4. ↑ a b 11 Years Ago This Month: Willie B.'s Memorial ( August 11, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive ), Atlanta Magazine
  5. ↑ Atlanta Magazine (February 2007)
  6. ↑ a b c Willie B. in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved January 12, 2015.