On this day in history: First gorilla born in captivity, 1956

In January 1951, a hunter called Bill Said brought three gorillas to Columbus Zoo in Ohio. Two of the apes, Millie Christina and Baron Macombo, stayed at the zoo as a mated pair. On 22nd December 1956, a female gorilla was born to them, the first gorilla to be born in captivity.

That morning, a young veterinary student and zoo-keeper called Warren Thomas noticed a change in Millie's usual behaviour, investigating further he found a baby gorilla still in the amniotic sac. He took the baby to the kitchen where broke open the sac to find the infant struggling to breathe. Thomas cleared the mucous from the baby's mouth and engaged in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Even though the zoo staff overcame the initial crisis the baby still needed round-the-clock attention, spending time in an incubator. While she spent her time growing in strength zoo and city administrators decided to hold a competition to find a name for the infant gorilla. Their initial prize of $50 was boosted by a $100 donation from the actor Clark Gable. Nineteen people submitted the winning entry, Colo, derived from Columbus, Ohio.

Colo is now the oldest captive gorilla in the World, becoming a great-great-grandmother in 2003.

Related posts
The quagga became extinct: 12th August 1883
Last captive thylacine died: 7th September 1936

On this day in history: Last captive thylacine died, 1936

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a large carnivorous marsupial native to Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. It is commonly called the 'Tasmanian tiger' because of the stripes on its back, and the 'Tasmanian wolf' because of its general appearance. Thylacines had a body length of between 1 and 1.3 metres (3.2 to 4.2 feet) and a shoulder height around 0.6 metres (2 feet).

By the time that European settlers arrived in Australia, the Thylacine was near extinction, possibly due to the arrival of the dingo thousands of years earlier. These wild dogs hunted in packs and, as omnivores, enjoyed a more varied diet than the thylacines, which were specialist hunters. Rock paintings provide evidence that the indigenous peoples sometimes hunted thylacines.

The thylacines on the island of Tasmania faired better. At the time of European colonisation, they still existed in relatively large numbers, especially on the north of the island. Even though they were rarely sighted, the thylacines were blamed for many attacks on sheep, resulting in the Van Diemen's Land Company introducing a bounty on the animal in 1830. This bounty, and a later one introduced by the Tasmanian Government, along with the introduction of wild dogs and diseases, the encroachment on habitat by farmers and the resultant diminishing of prey species all drove the thylacine towards extinction by the late 1920s.

A number of thylacines had been taken into captivity and held in zoos around the world. The last of these was captured in 1933 and taken to Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania. This specimen - later known as Benjamin, although its sex was never determined - died on 7th September 1936, probably as a result of neglect.

Since then a number of people claim to have sighted thylacines in the wild but none of these sightings have been confirmed. Thus, the thylacine remains on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of extinct species. To mark the death of the last thylacine, in 1996 the Australian Government instituted the Threatened Species Day held annually on 7th September.

To find out more about this lost species visit The Thylacine Museum web-site.


Footage of the last captive thylacine taken in 1933.

Related posts
The quagga became extinct: 12th August 1883
First gorilla born in captivity: 22nd December 1956

On this day in history: The quagga became extinct, 1883

The quagga were an equine species, similar to the zebra but with stripes only on the head, neck and shoulders. They roamed the drier parts of South Africa between the Orange, Vaal and Great Kei rivers, forming large grazing herds with hartebeest, wildebeest and ostriches. Their name is derived from the onomatopoeic name given to them by the native Hottentot, mimicking the animals' call.



The European travellers who first discovered them thought the quagga to be differently patterned zebra, or even the female of the Burchell Zebra. In 1788, the German naturalist Johann Georg Gmelin classified the quagga as a separate species. However, later naturalists became aware of a great variation in zebra coat patterns, and as a result they reclassified the quagga as a sub-species of zebra.



European farmers spread into the quagga habitat during the eighteenth century. Having failed to domesticate the quagga, they hunted them not only for their meat and for their hides, but also for sport. A number of quagga were taken into captivity, including a breeding pair at London Zoo. Captivity did not suit the quagga stallion, which killed itself by beating its head on the walls of the enclosure, leaving the mare [pictured above].



Hunting and the grazing of domesticated sheep severely reduced the number of quagga in the wild. The last wild quagga died sometime in the 1870s, leaving the captive animals as the last examples of the species. On 12th August 1883, the last of these died: a mare held by the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam.



In 1955, the German zoologist Lutz Heck suggested that by selectively breeding plains zebra, a creature identical to the quagga could be produced. Following experimentation with quagga DNA, scientists confirmed that they were a sub-species of zebra. In 1987, the Quagga Project was established to try to restore the species.



Related posts

Last captive thylacine died: 7th September 1936

First gorilla born in captivity: 22nd December 1956

On this day in history: First gorilla born in captivity, 1956

In January 1951, a hunter called Bill Said brought three gorillas to Columbus Zoo in Ohio. Two of the apes, Millie Christina and Baron Macombo, stayed at the zoo as a mated pair. On 22nd December 1956, a female gorilla was born to them, the first gorilla to be born in captivity.

That morning, a young veterinary student and zoo-keeper called Warren Thomas noticed a change in Millie's usual behaviour, investigating further he found a baby gorilla still in the amniotic sac. He took the baby to the kitchen where broke open the sac to find the infant struggling to breathe. Thomas cleared the mucous from the baby's mouth and engaged in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Even though the zoo staff overcame the initial crisis the baby still needed round-the-clock attention, spending time in an incubator. While she spent her time growing in strength zoo and city administrators decided to hold a competition to find a name for the infant gorilla. Their initial prize of $50 was boosted by a $100 donation from the actor Clark Gable. Nineteen people submitted the winning entry, Colo, derived from Columbus, Ohio.

Colo is now the oldest captive gorilla in the World, becoming a great-great-grandmother in 2003.

Related posts
The quagga became extinct: 12th August 1883
Last captive thylacine died: 7th September 1936

On this day in history: Last captive thylacine died, 1936

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a large carnivorous marsupial native to Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. It is commonly called the 'Tasmanian tiger' because of the stripes on its back, and the 'Tasmanian wolf' because of its general appearance. Thylacines had a body length of between 1 and 1.3 metres (3.2 to 4.2 feet) and a shoulder height around 0.6 metres (2 feet).

By the time that European settlers arrived in Australia, the Thylacine was near extinction, possibly due to the arrival of the dingo thousands of years earlier. These wild dogs hunted in packs and, as omnivores, enjoyed a more varied diet than the thylacines, which were specialist hunters. Rock paintings provide evidence that the indigenous peoples sometimes hunted thylacines.

The thylacines on the island of Tasmania faired better. At the time of European colonisation, they still existed in relatively large numbers, especially on the north of the island. Even though they were rarely sighted, the thylacines were blamed for many attacks on sheep, resulting in the Van Diemen's Land Company introducing a bounty on the animal in 1830. This bounty, and a later one introduced by the Tasmanian Government, along with the introduction of wild dogs and diseases, the encroachment on habitat by farmers and the resultant diminishing of prey species all drove the thylacine towards extinction by the late 1920s.

A number of thylacines had been taken into captivity and held in zoos around the world. The last of these was captured in 1933 and taken to Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania. This specimen - later known as Benjamin, although its sex was never determined - died on 7th September 1936, probably as a result of neglect.

Since then a number of people claim to have sighted thylacines in the wild but none of these sightings have been confirmed. Thus, the thylacine remains on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of extinct species. To mark the death of the last thylacine, in 1996 the Australian Government instituted the Threatened Species Day held annually on 7th September.

To find out more about this lost species visit The Thylacine Museum web-site.


Footage of the last captive thylacine taken in 1933.

Related posts
The quagga became extinct: 12th August 1883
First gorilla born in captivity: 22nd December 1956

On this day in history: The quagga became extinct, 1883

The quagga were an equine species, similar to the zebra but with stripes only on the head, neck and shoulders. They roamed the drier parts of South Africa between the Orange, Vaal and Great Kei rivers, forming large grazing herds with hartebeest, wildebeest and ostriches. Their name is derived from the onomatopoeic name given to them by the native Hottentot, mimicking the animals' call.

The European travellers who first discovered them thought the quagga to be differently patterned zebra, or even the female of the Burchell Zebra. In 1788, the German naturalist Johann Georg Gmelin classified the quagga as a separate species. However, later naturalists became aware of a great variation in zebra coat patterns, and as a result they reclassified the quagga as a sub-species of zebra.

European farmers spread into the quagga habitat during the eighteenth century. Having failed to domesticate the quagga, they hunted them not only for their meat and for their hides, but also for sport. A number of quagga were taken into captivity, including a breeding pair at London Zoo. Captivity did not suit the quagga stallion, which killed itself by beating its head on the walls of the enclosure, leaving the mare [pictured above].

Hunting and the grazing of domesticated sheep severely reduced the number of quagga in the wild. The last wild quagga died sometime in the 1870s, leaving the captive animals as the last examples of the species. On 12th August 1883, the last of these died: a mare held by the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam.

In 1955, the German zoologist Lutz Heck suggested that by selectively breeding plains zebra, a creature identical to the quagga could be produced. Following experimentation with quagga DNA, scientists confirmed that they were a sub-species of zebra. In 1987, the Quagga Project was established to try to restore the species.

Related posts
Last captive thylacine died: 7th September 1936
First gorilla born in captivity: 22nd December 1956