Alfred the Gorilla facts for kids
Alfred the Gorilla was a famous gorilla who lived at Bristol Zoo in England. He was born around 1928 and sadly passed away on March 9, 1948. Alfred arrived at the zoo in 1930 and quickly became a huge star! People loved his unique personality, and his fame grew even more during World War II. Even after he died, Alfred remained a special symbol for the city of Bristol.
After Alfred passed away, his body was preserved and put on display at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. He continued to be a mascot for the city. In 1956, Alfred's preserved body was actually stolen from the museum! It was missing for a weekend before being found and returned. The mystery of who took him wasn't solved until 2010. Today, Alfred is still on display in Bristol. He even helped inspire the popular Wow! Gorillas art trail in 2012.
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Gorillas and Bristol's History
Bristol has a long connection with gorillas. The very first gorilla bones ever brought to Britain ended up in Bristol! In 1836, an American scientist named Dr. Thomas Savage was in Liberia. He wrote to Professor Richard Owen in London, saying he had found bones of an amazing animal that scientists didn't know about yet.
Dr. Savage also wrote to Samuel Stutchbury in Bristol. Stutchbury helped get more gorilla bones. In 1847, Captain George Wagstaff brought three gorilla skulls from Gabon River in West Africa to Bristol. These skulls were sent to Professor Owen, who studied them. Today, these important skulls are still part of the Bristol Museum's collection.
The first living gorilla arrived in Europe in the 1880s. Sadly, most early gorillas brought to Europe didn't live very long, often due to lung problems. The first living gorilla to arrive at Bristol Zoo was bought in 1900, but it also died soon after.
Alfred's Early Life
Alfred was first discovered in 1928 in what was then called Belgian Congo (now part of the Democratic Republic of Congo). He was found by a science expedition from the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University. The expedition heard that two adult gorillas had been shot for eating a farmer's crops. Afterwards, a baby gorilla was found and cared for by a local woman.
The baby gorilla was later sold to a Greek merchant and taken to Mbalmayo in modern-day Cameroon. The expedition saw him playing in the streets and described him as "the liveliest specimen of his kind we had ever seen."
In 1930, Alfred was sold to an Italian person, who then sold him to an animal dealer. Bristol Zoo, which was already good at raising chimpanzees, bought Alfred for £350. Alfred stayed in Rotterdam for a few months in 1930 before coming to Bristol Zoo. He was named after Alfred Mosely, a kind person who helped the zoo a lot. People used to think Alfred was a mountain gorilla, but it's more likely he was a western lowland gorilla.
Life at Bristol Zoo
Alfred arrived at Bristol Zoo on September 5, 1930. This day was celebrated as his birthday every year! His cage was right near one of the entrances, so everyone saw him. Because of his great personality and his easy-to-see spot, he quickly became one of the zoo's biggest attractions.
For his first two years, Alfred often went for walks around the zoo grounds with his keeper, Frank Guise. He wore a long collar and chain and was famous for wearing woollen jumpers.
By his third year at the zoo, Alfred had grown quite big, weighing about 8 stones (around 50 kg). He was getting very strong, which worried his keepers. When he accidentally broke a photographer's tripod during his birthday party, his walks around the zoo stopped. Alfred also caught whooping cough when he was young, but he got medical help and recovered. This was the only serious illness he had until the end of his life.
Even though he stayed in his enclosure, Alfred remained very popular. In 1937, he was even featured beating his chest on a radio show broadcast from the zoo! By 1938, Alfred became the oldest gorilla living in a zoo. Later that year, visitors were invited to guess his weight. The closest guess was 20 stones, but Alfred actually weighed 26 stones and 4 pounds (about 167 kg)! His diet was completely vegetarian, which was a new idea for keeping gorillas in zoos at the time. It only cost the zoo £3 a week to feed him.
Alfred's Popularity and Personality
Alfred was a local celebrity, especially with children. Many visitors remembered his unique personality and funny habits. He would sometimes come close to the children at his cage and make what they thought were friendly gestures.
Why Alfred Was So Popular
Even though Alfred sometimes did things that some grown-ups found a bit rude, many children who saw him regularly felt a strong connection to him. One visitor even said they "loved and hated him" at the same time because of his naughtier habits! Others simply enjoyed his company and would sit by his cage for hours. Many people remembered that instead of "going to the zoo," they would say they were "going to see Alfie."
Some visitors made special trips to the zoo just to see Alfred. One woman remembered stopping to see him every year on her way to a campsite. She also recalled how Alfred would wear a large hessian sack on his head, like a holidaymaker wearing a handkerchief, which always made her laugh.
Alfred's Moods and Nickname
Alfred supposedly got upset if Rosie the Elephant walked past his enclosure and would sulk. He also seemed to dislike men with beards, double-decker buses, and airplanes. However, he showed great affection for his early keepers, Frank Guise and Bert Jones. He also liked the sparrows that visited his enclosure to eat breadcrumbs. Sometimes, his keeper would tickle him, and a crowd would gather to watch. As fascism became a big topic in Europe, Alfred even got the nickname "the Dictator of Bristol Zoo."
Alfred's Habits
Alfred loved making and throwing snowballs! A photo from January 1931 shows him doing this with two young children when he was three years old. But his throwing skills weren't just for snowballs. One visitor remembered that Alfred "used to express his opinion of the human race by picking up large lumps of his droppings and hurling them accurately at the spectators." This was a big delight for young schoolboys who would cheer him on!
Alfred also enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with visitors. One visitor recalled getting her head stuck in the bars of Alfred's cage when she was ten. She was rescued by a St. Johns ambulance worker. She said, "How did Alfred react to my dilemma? He just sat in the corner of his cage clapping his hands loudly and laughing." She now tells this story to her grandchildren.
Alfred During Wartime
During World War II, some animals were moved from the zoo, but Alfred stayed in Bristol. It became harder to get enough fruit and vegetables for his diet, so the zoo asked people to sponsor animals to help feed them. Alfred was sponsored by Albert Glisten, a supporter of the zoo and chairman of Southend United Football Club.
When US Army troops came to Bristol, Alfred's fame spread even further. Soldiers sent pictures and stories about him back to America, and articles about Alfred appeared in American newspapers. He remained a celebrity throughout the war. One visitor remembered that her great-great-uncle Bill was Alfred's keeper in the 1940s. Alfred was very fond of Bill and would comb his hair and eat chocolate from his teeth. Sometimes, Alfred wouldn't go into his night cage without Bill, so Bill would be picked up and taken to the zoo on his days off! The gorilla also disliked bombs and anti-aircraft guns.
The Home Guard (a defense organization) was based in the zoo's cafeteria during the war. One member remembered that they weren't allowed to march in front of Alfred's cage because it might make him aggressive. They thought it might be because their uniforms reminded Alfred of other primates. But they later decided it was probably the marching itself that upset him. He also said that being on night watch at the zoo was his scariest experience during the war. He worried about German soldiers, but also about animals escaping if a bomb hit the zoo. He recalled, "Often, 17-year-olds like myself exchanged our fears about what one would do if... the monstrous form of Alfred were to lumber forward out of the darkness." He joked, "probably run towards the enemy!"
Alfred's Death
In 1946, Alfred became slow and gained a lot of weight. He was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, but he recovered after treatment and regained his strength.
Alfred died on March 10, 1948. The newspapers at the time joked that "his pet hate got him in the end," linking his dislike of airplanes to one flying over the zoo just before he died. However, the real reason for his death was tuberculosis, which he had caught a year before. Despite his keepers' best efforts, he couldn't recover. Many regular visitors to the zoo were very sad about his death, and some even wrote poems to honor him.
After Alfred's death, gorillas were kept at Bristol Zoo almost continuously until the mid-1990s. In 1995, two gorillas named Diana and Jeremy were sent to London Zoo. The ape house at Bristol Zoo was criticized, leading to a £5 million renovation for smaller animals. A new ape house for gorillas wasn't planned for several years, and the gorillas were unlikely to return, which disappointed their keeper, Mike Colbourne.
Alfred After Death
After he died, Alfred was preserved by taxidermists in London. He was posed on all fours and returned to Bristol City Museum, where he was put on display near the busy museum cafe. His bones and organs were sent to Bristol University for study.
Alfred on Display
At first, Alfred's display in the museum was very simple, with just a few facts about him. But because he was near the cafe and was so famous during his life, he became one of the most visited and celebrated exhibits. Many people who had seen Alfred at the zoo as children continued to visit him in the museum. Their feelings for him when he was alive carried over, keeping his fame alive. Later encounters with his preserved form were very special for those who remembered him from the zoo. For example, one visitor unexpectedly saw him when visiting her granddaughter at Bristol University more than forty years after Alfred died!
In 1988, Alfred was moved to the World Wildlife gallery on the museum's first floor. His display was now next to other animal specimens. More information was added to his display, and he started appearing more often in museum advertisements, both in photos and as a cartoon. This helped Alfred become part of a bigger story about biology and animal protection, while still being a beloved local mascot and a piece of history.
The Mystery Theft
In 1956, Alfred went missing from the museum! He had been stolen by a group of students as a prank. After three days, he was found and returned to his display case. The full story behind the theft wasn't known for more than fifty years.
Remembering Alfred
In 1993, people were asked to send in their memories about Alfred as part of a competition to win tickets to Bristol Zoo. This was part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Alfred's death, which also included talks and tours at the museum. The letters received added many interesting stories about Alfred to the museum's collection.
Alfred's 80th birthday was celebrated at the museum in 2010 with activities and events. Children drew him birthday cards, showing that he still appeals to young visitors and remains an important part of Bristol's history. A sculpture of Alfred's head is also on display at Bristol's M Shed museum. It used to be at the entrance to the gorilla enclosure at Bristol Zoo.
Alfred's Legacy
Alfred is still a very important part of the museum's collection. He appears regularly in guides, trails, and children's events. Alfred has also been featured in several films and plays. Tom Kelpie's short film "Who Stuffed Alfred the Gorilla" is a funny spoof, and there's also the original footage filmed by the American expedition who first found him playing in the streets. Nick Jones and Toby Lucas also made a short film about Alfred in 2008.
Alfred was also in Peter Nichols' 1979 comedy play Born in the Gardens. One of Alfred's kidnappers supposedly even wrote a play about the theft!
Alfred's life and fame are still used to talk about the history of animal protection and how primates are cared for in zoos.
Alfred's role as a symbol for Bristol was made even stronger in 2011 when the Wow! Gorillas project started across the city. This project helped raise awareness about the danger of extinction facing primates. It also celebrated the 175th anniversary of Bristol Zoo and raised over £420,000 for charity.
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