MORE THAN SEW SO

Colo! You're Free!…RUN!

I remember going to the Columbus Zoo when I was a teenager to see this tiny little gorilla when she was about 3 months old. The zoo had a contest to name her and she was finally christened Colo Her mother had rejected her and she was hand raised by the zoo staff. She is now 52 years old and today, after many years of careful planning…she, at last, made her escape. Unfortunately she didn’t get far. Perhaps it was NOT unfortunate for if she had gotten further, it might have had dire consequences for her. She could have been hurt and caused a panic. Read the story about her adventure!

Gorilla Strolls Hallway At Columbus Zoo

The entrance to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was closed for about 45 minutes Tuesday morning while a gorilla strolled a hallway used by keepers.

Colo took advantage of an improperly secured door and walked through the hallway, according to a release by the zoo.

“At the time of the incident the zoo’s veterinarians were in the adjacent break room discussing plans to give Colo her health check-up,” said Zoo Director Jeff Swanagan. “Colo apparently overheard them and decided to join the conversation.”

The gorilla walked down hallways and used a marker to write on a wall and a shovel handle, 10TV’s Lindsey Seavert reported.

Kepepers tried to coax the 52-year-old gorilla back into her habitat with yogurt and a cup of Coca-Cola to no avail. Less than an hour later, the gorilla returned to the exhibit.

Although the gorilla was secure within the building, the zoo staff asked visitors to leave the area and closed the zoo’s entrance. Normal operations resumed after about 45 minutes, the zoo said.

Colo was born on Dec. 22, 1956. The Columbus Zoo is home to 14 endangered lowland gorillas, including Colo, her daughter Toni, grandson Mac, granddaughter Cassie and great-granddaughter Dotty.

Until Next Time!

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Filed under: 52 year old gorilla, Colo, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Jeff Swanagan, Lindsay Seavert, endangered lowland gorilla, gorilla, keepers, veterinarians

5 Responses to “Colo! You're Free!…RUN!”

1. Maureen, on May 27th, 2009 at 3:45 pm Said:

   I am not a fan of zoos. I’m glad she didn’t get far since she has been raised in captivity. There is a gorilla named Koko that is on a calendar I receive from , The Gorilla Foundation. It’s cute- she has on a hawaiian lai and the last picture has the lai with all of the flowers eaten! One she is holding her friend a kitten. She knows sign language. Truly remarkable. I think koko.org has some good pictures on it. Gorillas are amazing! I hope Colo is ok.

   Maureens last blog post..Adam Lambert….and Home Business: Commonalities?

2. Judy, on May 27th, 2009 at 5:01 pm Said:

   Hi Maureen…Colo is just fine. She is a beautiful creature and a rather prolific one as well. I ran across a site while looking for her “baby” picture that gave the statistics for her children and grandchildren. I think there are 8 family members living at the Columbus zoo and many, MANY more living at other zoos throughout the US. I, too, am not a great fan of zoos, but it does give one who would not normally have the opportunity to see such amazing creatures in the wild, an up close and personal view of the different species. Our zoo has tried to give each species a natural habitat in which to live. Jack Hanna did wonders for our pathetic zoo years ago and is gets better and better each year.

   Judys last blog post..Colo! You’re Free!…RUN!

3. Pam Hawk, on June 21st, 2009 at 3:51 pm Said:

   Hi!

   I’m having a blogwarming party on my blog and one of the activities is a scavenger hunt to encourage my readers to visit links in my blogroll. Since your blog is one of my own regular reads, of course, you’re in my blogroll.

   I’d like to invite you to participate in the scavenger hunt – it could bring some traffic and new readers to your site, as well. Full details are in a blog post I buried in my blog at: http://adventuresofpamandfrank.blogspot.com/2008/06/scavenger-hunt-invitation.html

   Thanks!
   -Pam Hawk

   PS: This comment is buried in one of your older posts so it doesn’t distract your readers from more recent posts. You can delete this if you want.

4. judy, on June 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm Said:

   Hi Pam…I left a comment on your blog and saying that I cannot enter the contest because of upcoming surgery, but did you still want me to find something for you to put into the scavenger hunt?

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