Binti Jua facts for kids

Binti Jua (born March 17, 1988) is a female western lowland gorilla. She lives at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois, near Chicago, United States. Binti Jua became famous in 1996. This happened after she helped a three-year-old boy who had fallen into her home at the zoo.

Binti Jua's name means "Daughter of Sunshine" in the Swahili language. She is the niece of Koko, another famous gorilla. Koko was known for her ability to use sign language. Binti Jua's mother, Lulu, came from the Bronx Zoo. Lulu passed away on January 24, 2011. Binti Jua's father is Sunshine, from the San Francisco Zoo.

Binti Jua's Family

Binti Jua has a daughter named Koola. Koola's father is a wild-born silverback gorilla named Abe. Binti Jua also has a son named Bakari. Bakari's father is another wild-born silverback named Ramar. Ramar was trained to do circus tricks. Bakari now lives at the Saint Louis Zoo with his half-brother, Nadaya.

Binti Jua has three granddaughters. Kamba was born to Koola and Ramar. Nora and Ali were born to Koola and another silverback named JoJo. Binti also has a great-grandson named Zachary, who is Kamba's son.

Zoo Rescue Incident

On August 16, 1996, Binti Jua was eight years old. A three-year-old boy climbed over a wall at the gorilla exhibit. He then fell 24 feet (about 7.3 meters) into the gorilla area. The boy broke his hand and had a large cut on his face.

Binti Jua walked towards the boy, who was unconscious. People watching were screaming. Binti gently picked up the child. She held him carefully. Then, she carried him to a door that led to her indoor area. Her own baby, Koola, who was 17 months old, was holding onto Binti's back during this whole time.

The boy stayed in the hospital for four days. He made a full recovery. Binti Jua received a lot of attention from news reporters around the world. For many months, zoo staff gave her special treats. Visitors also paid her a lot of attention.

What Happened After

After the incident, experts discussed Binti's actions. They wondered if she acted because of her training. Or, did she act out of altruism, which means helping others without expecting anything back?

Binti was raised by humans, not by her gorilla mother. Because of this, she had special training. This training taught her how to care for a baby gorilla. It also taught her to bring her baby to zoo staff for check-ups.

A scientist who studies primates, Frans de Waal, used Binti Jua as an example. He said her actions showed empathy in animals. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

There are other examples of animals showing kindness. A male gorilla named Jambo also protected a child. This happened at Jersey Zoo. A five-year-old child fell into his enclosure. Jambo was not trained to care for children. He was raised by his own gorilla mother. So, his actions might have been an instinct to help the child. Chimpanzees also show similar behavior. They often comfort each other after a scary event.

See also

• Harambe
• Jambo
• List of individual apes