The first gorilla I ever saw. Thank you so much for this and the other London shots Gigit - they bring back so many memories, and the sheer magic of London Zoo in the early 1970s, when a full day couldn't take in every exhibit.
It couldn't have stayed like that, but somewhere along the way I still feel that the baby was lost with tha bathwater.
First Gorilla I ever saw as well. I agree with everything IanRR says above. The only bits that retain/recreate the magic of the Old Zoo for me are the Blackburn Pavilion [Bird House] & the Reptile House.
I wish I could've seen London in its heyday, I know conditions were poor but the collection was amazing. I've only visited twice, once in about 93/94 and again about 12 years ago and I was even less impressed than on my first visit. The mammal collection seems to have suffered the most unfortunately!
I remember how they were optimistic that Guy would breed when finally provided with a female and how it took them quite a while to accept he wasn't going to do so. This photo was taken in the same year that the Zoo's first baby gorilla 'Salome' was born... though 'Guy' was not the proud father.
Sorry Ian, I obliterated most of your post by mistake while attempting to answer it..
Question- Does anyone know any reason why he was on his own for so long?
Putting aside the ethics of the exercise, it seems odd that ZSL stood aloof from getting any female Western Gorillas, especially as three young Eastern Gorillas did come in the early 1960s.
Answer- I think the death of those young Easterns, all after very short periods at the Zoo, may have had something to do with it. I think there was a conscious decision not to bring in any more imported babies if they couldn't keep them alive. Then as 'Guy' grew to maturity and beyond, it seemed more unlikely that he would accept a mate anyway.
When they finally aquired 'Lomie' from Chessington, where she was the survivor of a young imported pair (which they had already replaced with an even younger pair) she was already 4-5 years old and fully acclimatised so there was no risk with her.
As it proved, fears of 'Guy' being hostile to a female after never having had a partner for so many years, were quite unfounded, though his behaviour toward her wasn't typical of a normal adult male either- he reacted to her initially as a playmate and later became almost subordinate to her- presumably the result of his solitary upbringing.
