Bokito

by Emmy Gostelie · Utrecht, NL

The gorilla Bokito was born in the Berlin zoo on March 14, 1996. Mother M’ Penzi cared for Bokito insufficiently, and he was therefore raised by humans. On May 18, 2007, he escaped from his enclosure in the Blijdorp zoo by jumping over a 4.5-meter-wide ditch and then injured a woman who visited the gorilla 4 times a week and always tried to make contact with the ape. Gorillas are seriously threatened in their existence by poachers (bushmeat), the Ebola virus, and the reduction of their habitat. In 2022, it is estimated that only around 330,000 gorillas live in the wild.