Bokito (gorilla)
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| Species | Western gorilla |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Born |
March 14, 1996 Berlin, Germany |
| Residence | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Bokito (born March 14, 1996) is a male western gorilla born in captivity, currently living in Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He became the subject of considerable media coverage after breaking out of his enclosure on May 18, 2007, abducting a female visitor and severely injuring her.
Bokito was born in the Zoologischer Garten, Berlin, Germany, and was abandoned by his mother at birth. He was then raised by human attendants. To avoid the risk of inbreeding, he was transferred to Rotterdam in August 2005, where the mauling incident later took place.
In mid-2004, Bokito escaped from his enclosure in Berlin and climbed its 3 metre high wall. He was escorted back to his cage without incident.
On May 18, 2007, Bokito jumped over the water-filled ditch that separated his Rotterdam enclosure from the public and violently attacked a woman, dragging her around for tens of metres and inflicting bone fractures as well as more than a hundred bite wounds. He subsequently entered a nearby restaurant, causing panic among the visitors. During this encounter, three more people were injured as a result of the panic. Bokito was eventually sedated with the help of a tranquilizer gun and placed back in his cage.
The woman who was attacked had been a regular visitor to the great apes' enclosure, visiting an average of four times per week. She had a habit of touching the glass that separated her from the gorillas, while making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him — a practice that is discouraged by primatologists, as apes are likely to interpret human smiling as a form of aggressive display. Zoo employees had previously warned her against doing this, but she continued, claiming a special bond with him: in an interview with De Telegraaf she said, "If I smile at him, he smiles back".
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Wikipedia