The Gorilla Who Was Brought up as a Boy in an English Village
This is the incredible true story of John Daniel, who was no ordinary gorilla
John Daniel was a young gorilla who was adopted by an English family in 1918 and brought up as a human boy in the village of Uley. He had his own room, went to school, and was fond of tea and cider.
His remarkable story came to prominence when Uley archivist, Margaret Groom, published John’s pictures in a recent book about the village.
But how exactly did this come about? And was he really just like another kid? (Spoiler for the latter question — obviously not, but more so than you would think.)
How did John Daniel end up in an English village?
The gorilla was bought from a London department store called Derry & Toms by a wealthy British major called Rupert Penny in 1917. Shops were very different a century ago. The ape cost £300, about £25,000 in today’s money (or about $34,000USD).
Its parents had been shot by French soldiers in what is now Gabon and the infant gorilla had been captured and taken to England. Major Penny named it John Daniel.
Like many people buying animals on a whim, the major realized he couldn’t look after…
