SILVERBACK

SILVERBACK

A silverback died at the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday. Sad thing. A silverback is a mature male gorilla. They're called silverbacks because they get silver (gray) hair on their backs at about the age of 12. This one, named Colossus, was 40 years old. He was a western lowland gorilla. They are on the endangered species list. The Cincinnati Zoo is famous for breeding them. How well I know.

In 1969, my wife was expecting our third child. She was not too happy about being pregnant in the first place. This made our third child in three years. By late summer, she was getting a little testy. Well, it seems that in late summer 1969, the Zoo announced that two of its female gorillas were pregnant and they were expecting the first lowland gorillas ever bred in captivity. It made a big splash in the Cincinnati newspapers and media in general. They went on and on for days and weeks. This didn't go over too big in our household. My wife was looking for pity and empathy. All she ever heard about were these wonderful "apes" going through pregnancy. This was not what she wanted to hear. Luckily, in November, she had her easiest birthing and a beautiful little girl.

Two gorillas were born early in 1970. Sam and Samantha made history and gave the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens the nickname of "The sexiest zoo in the world."