Bobo (gorilla)
Encyclopedia
Bobo was a western lowland gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla) who was a prominent feature of Woodland Park Zoo
in Seattle, Washington, USA, from 1953 until his death. As a publicly accessible gorilla in the wake of King Kong
, Bobo was one of Seattle's most prominent attractions before the construction of the Space Needle
and the introduction of professional sports to the city. After his death, Bobo's skin was stuffed
and placed on display at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry
. The remainder of his body was turned over to the University of Washington
's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
for research purposes; however, the skull went missing shortly after his autopsy
and was reunited with the rest of the skeleton in 2007.
sometime in 1951. When Bobo was approximately 2 weeks old, William "Gorilla Bill" Said captured him after killing the gorilla's mother, an acceptable and even admired practice at the time. Bobo was the youngest gorilla ever captured at the time, and no zoo wanted to buy him. Said took Bobo back to his home in Columbus, Ohio
, USA, where Said's mother looked after the infant ape. Several months later, Bill Lowman, a fisherman from Washington state, purchased Bobo from Said while looking for a chimpanzee as a present for his parents, Raymond and Jean Lowman. Bill enlisted his aunt to drive Bobo to the Lowman family home in Anacortes
, a town on Fidalgo Island
in Skagit County
.
Bobo was brought to Anacortes and lived in the Lowman family home. He quickly became a tourist attraction when word got around that a family had a gorilla living in their home. Over the next two years, the Lowmans raised Bobo as if he were a human until his size and strength posed issues too serious to ignore. Jean Lowman kept detailed accounts of the destruction Bobo wrought on their house and possessions. The Lowmans decided they could no longer take care of Bobo in their home, and sold him to the Woodland Park Zoo
in Seattle in 1953.
At the zoo Bobo became a big tourist attraction. The zoo was able to use the publicity surrounding Bobo to garner public support for a new primate house. While at the zoo Bobo never forgot about the Lowmans, instantly recognizing any of them when they came to visit. In 1956 the zoo introduced a female gorilla named Fifi to Bobo's cage in the hopes that they would mate. Although Fifi remained with Bobo until his death, they never mated, which perplexed zookeepers and the media who followed them.
. After the autopsy his pelt was removed, mounted
, and placed on display at the Museum of History and Industry
(MOHAI) several months later. The rest of the remains, meanwhile, were turned over to the Burke Museum
to be used for research purposes; the Burke owns the remains to the present day.
Bobo's mounted pelt has remained on display at MOHAI except for a brief stint at the Anacortes Museum from 1987–1991. The pelt was then removed from display in 1997 and placed into storage due to its deteriorating condition and was restored by the original taxidermist in 2000 before being put back on display, where it remains to the present day.
graduate student discovered that Bobo's head was missing. As a result, the museum indefinitely postponed skeletonization—the process of separating flesh from bone—as an incomplete skeleton was of little educational value. However, in 1975, the failure of the Burke's storage freezer in which the remains were stored made skeletonization immediately necessary.
In 1978, Daris Swindler, the Burke Museum director, was told that the skull may be in the possession of Merrill Spencer, a physician who had attended Bobo's autopsy. Then in 1981 Spencer allowed David Humphries, a writer for the Seattle Weekly
, to take a picture of Bobo's skull. However, when asked by Humphries, Spencer refused to give the skull to the Burke. After Spencer's death in 2006, his employees decided to reunite Bobo's skull with the rest of the skeleton, and after some negotiating, the skull was given to the Burke in 2007.
Western Lowland Gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla that lives in montane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is the gorilla usually found in zoos...
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla) who was a prominent feature of Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer...
in Seattle, Washington, USA, from 1953 until his death. As a publicly accessible gorilla in the wake of King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, Bobo was one of Seattle's most prominent attractions before the construction of the Space Needle
Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
and the introduction of professional sports to the city. After his death, Bobo's skin was stuffed
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
and placed on display at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry
Museum of History and Industry
The Museum of History and Industry is a museum located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOHAI is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound...
. The remainder of his body was turned over to the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...
for research purposes; however, the skull went missing shortly after his autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
and was reunited with the rest of the skeleton in 2007.
Life
Bobo was born in French Equatorial AfricaEquatorial Africa
Equatorial Africa is an ambiguous term that is sometimes used to refer to tropical Africa, or the region of Sub-Saharan Africa traversed by the equator....
sometime in 1951. When Bobo was approximately 2 weeks old, William "Gorilla Bill" Said captured him after killing the gorilla's mother, an acceptable and even admired practice at the time. Bobo was the youngest gorilla ever captured at the time, and no zoo wanted to buy him. Said took Bobo back to his home in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, USA, where Said's mother looked after the infant ape. Several months later, Bill Lowman, a fisherman from Washington state, purchased Bobo from Said while looking for a chimpanzee as a present for his parents, Raymond and Jean Lowman. Bill enlisted his aunt to drive Bobo to the Lowman family home in Anacortes
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is a consolidation of the name Anna Curtis, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 15,778 at the time of the 2010 census...
, a town on Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass...
in Skagit County
Skagit County, Washington
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Skagit Indian tribe. As of 2010, the population was 116,901. It is included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Bobo was brought to Anacortes and lived in the Lowman family home. He quickly became a tourist attraction when word got around that a family had a gorilla living in their home. Over the next two years, the Lowmans raised Bobo as if he were a human until his size and strength posed issues too serious to ignore. Jean Lowman kept detailed accounts of the destruction Bobo wrought on their house and possessions. The Lowmans decided they could no longer take care of Bobo in their home, and sold him to the Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer...
in Seattle in 1953.
At the zoo Bobo became a big tourist attraction. The zoo was able to use the publicity surrounding Bobo to garner public support for a new primate house. While at the zoo Bobo never forgot about the Lowmans, instantly recognizing any of them when they came to visit. In 1956 the zoo introduced a female gorilla named Fifi to Bobo's cage in the hopes that they would mate. Although Fifi remained with Bobo until his death, they never mated, which perplexed zookeepers and the media who followed them.
Death and legacy
Bobo was found dead in his cage on February 22, 1968. The cause of death has remained a source of controversy, with the autopsy officially attributing the death to pulmonary embolismPulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
. After the autopsy his pelt was removed, mounted
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
, and placed on display at the Museum of History and Industry
Museum of History and Industry
The Museum of History and Industry is a museum located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOHAI is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound...
(MOHAI) several months later. The rest of the remains, meanwhile, were turned over to the Burke Museum
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...
to be used for research purposes; the Burke owns the remains to the present day.
Bobo's mounted pelt has remained on display at MOHAI except for a brief stint at the Anacortes Museum from 1987–1991. The pelt was then removed from display in 1997 and placed into storage due to its deteriorating condition and was restored by the original taxidermist in 2000 before being put back on display, where it remains to the present day.
Head controversy
Shortly after the remains were transferred to the Burke Museum, a University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
graduate student discovered that Bobo's head was missing. As a result, the museum indefinitely postponed skeletonization—the process of separating flesh from bone—as an incomplete skeleton was of little educational value. However, in 1975, the failure of the Burke's storage freezer in which the remains were stored made skeletonization immediately necessary.
In 1978, Daris Swindler, the Burke Museum director, was told that the skull may be in the possession of Merrill Spencer, a physician who had attended Bobo's autopsy. Then in 1981 Spencer allowed David Humphries, a writer for the Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
, to take a picture of Bobo's skull. However, when asked by Humphries, Spencer refused to give the skull to the Burke. After Spencer's death in 2006, his employees decided to reunite Bobo's skull with the rest of the skeleton, and after some negotiating, the skull was given to the Burke in 2007.