IVAN'S STORY
Humorous, Loving, & Curious
“Ivan had a life where he was adored, and he touched many lives in different parts of the country. Thousands of people are very thankful to have known Ivan.” —Ron Irwin
Ivan’s story starts in the central Zaire, formally the Belgian Congo, rainforest, Ivan, a Silverback Western Lowland Gorilla, and Burma, a female gorilla, were captured in the early 1960’s and taken from their native homeland. In the process, their parents were likely killed.
Sadly, this is an occurrence still happening today.
Ivan and Burma’s situation came to the attention of an exotic animal broker in Africa. In an attempt to sell these baby gorillas, the broker contacted the owner of the B&I Circus Store in Tacoma, WA, my father Earl Irwin [1].
The B&I had a history of owning many animals over the years including lions, bears, seals, elephants, chimpanzees, and leopards (something common at that time).
The broker had told Mr. Irwin he would euthanize the gorillas come morning if he could not sell them. Thinking this was the only option for the two infant gorillas, Mr. Irwin very reluctantly agreed to take them.
With that agreement, Ivan and Burma’s journey to Tacoma began.
Ivan in South Puget Sound
Lost in transit for nearly eight days, Ivan finally arrived at the Chicago's O'Hare airport. Burma’s trip had far fewer problems as she arrived on time at SeaTac. Soon after Burma’s arrival, she became sick and died.The cause of her death was believed to be pneumonia.
Ivan's future was better. He lived with a local family, the Johnstons, who owned the pet shop at the B&I. He spent the first three and a half years with the family. His best friend was their son, Larry.
Soon, Ivan grew too large and uncontrollable for a human home. He would swing from the light fixtures, climb the curtains, and certainly damage the house. It was time to find another home for Ivan, but how? No one had ever done this before.
The B&I Circus
Mr. Irwin contacted two zoos that had gorillas and asked for help with the process of caging a gorilla that has lived most of his life in a normal human house. The understanding then was that gorillas were vicious animals who would kill you if given the chance.
“Remember King Kong?” cautioned a staff member from one of the zoos.
A customized 30-foot trailer featuring unbreakable glass, a kitchen, his TV, and a living area had become Ivan’s new home.
Years later Ivan continued to grow and the B&I constructed a new, larger compound that incorporated his customized trailer as his sleeping quarters. There was an outdoor living space for Ivan to sit in the sun and feel the fresh air, a waterfall with a pond, climbing bars, tires, rope nest, a huge pile of straw and every kind of toy that would last two or more days.
If Ivan didn’t want to be in the viewing cage, he could at anytime go to his trailer in the back and play with one of the four handlers who cared for him.
He always had a full-time handler. They enjoyed his painting, playing games, reading to him, playing tug of war -- all to keep his mind active. Once tiring of games with his handlers, he would wander back out to see the people who'd been waiting patiently to see the one and only Ivan!
In the mid-Seventies, attitudes in the country changed regarding animals in captivity. In response to the change, the B&I found new homes for most animals by 1980 -- except Ivan.
UNFORTUNATELY, ZOOS DID NOT WANT AN OLDER, SOLITARY GORILLA.
Ivan Becomes Nationally Known
The day that changed everything for Ivan.
An attorney for pop icon Michael Jackson called on his behalf to inquire about caring for Ivan, with the promise that “he would build the best gorilla compound on Earth”.
Unfortunately, after two years Mr. Jackson could not procure building permits for the compound that he had envisioned and his dream for Ivan died.
Due to international attention, Michael Jackson brought to Ivan’s plight, suddenly offers came to take care of Ivan from many experienced zoos. The first choice being Zoo Atlanta, with the foremost experience. Here, Ivan had joined other gorillas in an open-air penned area after a period of adjustment.
Ivan moves across the country to
Atlanta, Georgia
In the spring of 1994, Ivan arrived in Atlanta and walked freely into a wide field area with other gorillas.
Though he now lived with other gorillas – a first since his capture in 1964 — he seemed to prefer the company of humans. By most indications, Ivan was happy at his new home in Atlanta.
Jodi Carrigan, Ivan’s keeper at Zoo Atlanta remarked:
“No matter where he (Ivan) was, he enjoyed people watching and oddly enough when Ivan spent the day in our exhibit that had only glass separating him from the public, very similarly to the B&I, you would always find him there, in front of the glass watching all of the visitors. His love of people who came to see him never went away, even in Atlanta.”
On Tuesday, August 20, 2012, an exam was performed to discover why he was losing weight. Grievously, he failed to wake up from the exam. He was 50 years old and etched his name in history as one of the longest-lived gorillas in captivity.
Zoo Atlanta held a memorial service attended by hundreds. To this day, people still send letters to Zoo Atlanta about Ivan and the joy he brought them.