Toto (gorilla)
Encyclopedia
Toto (a.k.a. M'Toto meaning "Little Child" in Swahili) was a gorilla
that was adopted and raised very much like a human child.
A. Maria Hoyt adopted the baby female gorilla orphaned by a hunt in French Equatorial Africa
in 1931. Mrs. Hoyt's husband killed the baby gorilla's father for a museum piece, and his guides killed its mother for fun. Mrs. Hoyt moved to Cuba
to provide a more tropical home for Toto. At the age of four or five, Toto adopted a kitten named Principe, carrying the kitten with her everywhere. When Toto became too difficult to manage for a private keeper, she was sold to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as a potential mate for another gorilla, Gargantua
, a.k.a. Buddy. Toto died in 1968.
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
that was adopted and raised very much like a human child.
A. Maria Hoyt adopted the baby female gorilla orphaned by a hunt in French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...
in 1931. Mrs. Hoyt's husband killed the baby gorilla's father for a museum piece, and his guides killed its mother for fun. Mrs. Hoyt moved to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to provide a more tropical home for Toto. At the age of four or five, Toto adopted a kitten named Principe, carrying the kitten with her everywhere. When Toto became too difficult to manage for a private keeper, she was sold to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as a potential mate for another gorilla, Gargantua
Gargantua (gorilla)
Gargantua was a captive lowland gorilla who was famous in his lifetime and has been credited with saving the Ringling Brothers circus from bankruptcy. An acid scar on his face gave Gargantua a snarling, menacing expression, and the circus management attracted attention to him by emphasizing, in...
, a.k.a. Buddy. Toto died in 1968.
Further reading
- Toto and I: A Gorilla in the Family (1941) by A. Maria Hoyt
- Eve & the Apes (1988) by Emily Hahn