Western Lowland Gorilla

Why is this Congolese gorilla in the museum?

Britain, France, Belgium and other European countries once colonised large parts of Africa. This gorilla lived in what is now called Congo, or the Republic of the Congo. At the time, it was a French colony known as the French Congo. This is to the east of the much larger Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was colonised by Belgium and then known as the Belgian Congo.

When the gorilla was young, he was kept as a pet by a French man called Jean Charles André Capagorry. Capagorry was a colonial administrator, helping to run the colony for the French government. The gorilla was called Mo Koundje. He was kept with a female gorilla called Moina Massa. We don’t know where Capagorry got the gorillas from, but he kept them as pets for around two years. When they got larger and more difficult to handle, he took them to France, and from there sold them to London Zoo in 1932. He was paid £1100, which is equivalent to around £75,000 today. The gorillas’ exact ages are not clear, but Mo Koundje was probably around five years old, and Moina Massa around seven.

The Gorilla Trade

It was against the law to keep gorillas as pets, and to export them from Africa, without a special permit. Despite this, Capagorry and other European colonists were able to make money by selling gorillas to European and American zoos. Congolese people would have been jailed for doing this.

To capture young gorillas, hundreds of people would surround a family of gorillas with netting, and remove trees until they had no cover. The adults would be speared to death, and the young gorillas captured. The African people hired to do this work were poorly paid and put themselves in a lot of danger.

Unfortunately, gorillas are still at risk from the illegal pet trade and bush meat trade. Sanctuaries based in Africa provide rescued gorillas with safe homes.

What do you think?

Mo Koundje died in 1938, from kidney disease. Leeds Museums and Galleries bought his skin and skeleton from London Zoo. We also have other gorilla remains in our collection, which all help us to learn about gorillas, and to tell gorillas’ stories. Museums in Europe and North American have hundreds of gorilla specimens in their collections, used for scientific research and education.

In contrast, there are very few gorilla specimens stored in Africa. There are none on public display in museums in countries where gorillas live. This imbalance is a small part of the legacy of Europe’s colonial past in Africa.