Jo'Burg Days: Makoko, The Toy Boy
Barbara Durlacher tells of the famous Max, who "detained'' a fleeing burglary suspect. Oh, by the way...Max was a huge silverback gorilla.
When, a couple of years ago, popular acclaim voted Max “Crime Fighter of the Year” for his part in stopping a fleeing burglary suspect, it seemed that finally justice had been done.
Max’s claim to fame came from the time he ‘arrested’ a prisoner escaping from the holding cells at the nearby Parktown Police Station, and the event became headline news and made Max famous for the rest of his life.
The suspect had jumped down into the area, under the impression he could hide there until he could escape under cover of darkness. However, Max was too quick for him and far too protective of his territory to allow an intruder into his enclosure.
He backed the thief into a corner and held him captive until keepers and police arrived. The unusual slant to the event was the fact that Max was a huge silverback gorilla, and that unknowingly he had participated in apprehending a much-wanted man.
Then, sadly, a couple of years after his sudden elevation to fame, Max died. “Old age, and a liver infection”, the vets said.
Max’s ‘widow’ Lisa, was desolate at her loss. Although their union had not been blessed by issue, they were a devoted couple and now the large enclosure seemed too big and empty. She mooched around, lonely and sad, mourning her former partner and friend.
At last something has been done to relieve her loneliness, and a new arrival took up residence in the quarantine cages at the zoo. An eighteen-year old male, Makoko is young, big and fit, recently arrived from Hamburg Zoo and destined to be Lisa’s new mate.
After his quarantine is completed, and he has had time to become accustomed to his new quarters, the high altitude and summer heat of Johannesburg, he will be introduced to his new ‘wife’ and they will live together in the large, comfortable enclosure which was previously home to ‘Crime-fighter’ Max and Lisa.
Who knows, but soon there may even be the pitter-patter of little gorilla feet, but in the meanwhile, Lisa is enjoying her new ‘toy-boy’ and revelling in a return to her courting days!
