31st August 1986
Boy falls into Jersey Zoo gorilla enclosure
When five-year-old Levan Merrit fell into the gorilla enclosure at Jersey Zoo, Jambo, a 25 stone gorilla, protected him from the other apes. As the Dublin Evening Herald reported on 2 September, “Hundreds of holiday-makers looked on in horror… as the seven gorillas in the pit moved towards the unconscious little boy who had fallen 20ft. But the towering Jambo – the leader of the pack – was merely protecting the boy and warding off the others.”
Gorillas scared
Merrit had initially been knocked out but, upon coming around, he screamed, which scared Jambo and the other gorillas living in the pen. Jambo led the pack back to their shelter and zoo keepers were able to drag the boy out of the enclosure. He was sent to the mainland for hospital observation.
Jambo had been born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1961, and died at Durrell Wildlife Park on 16 September 1992. He was memorialised with the erection of a bronze statue at the zoo.
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Other events that occured in August
Jersey plane makes bomb threat detour
- Thirty passengers on their way to Jersey strapped themselves in as their aircraft performed an about turn in mid-air
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Jersey’s military government is dissolved
- The Channel Islands’ political recovery from the Occupation of the Second World War was swift, even if the physical scars remain.
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First direct rail services link St Helier to Corbière
- Jersey Railway was completed in stages, with services connecting La Corbiere to the capital not starting for 15 years.
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Jèrriais author Philippe Le Sueur Mourant dies
- Philippe Le Sueur Mourant was born in St Saviour, Jersey, and moved to Newfoundland before returning to the island.
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