Books / Animals
Bristol zookeeper to publish memoir
Alan Toyne, a zookeeper and primate expert, hand-reared two baby gorillas at Bristol Zoo after they were rejected by their mothers.
These and more stories of his time working at Bristol Zoo will feature in Alan’s new memoir, Gorillas in our Midst, due to be published in April.
According to the book’s publisher, Alan “does not have the words ‘Mother of Gorillas’ on his business card, but he probably should”.
Not only providing an in-depth look at life in the former Bristol Zoo in Clifton, which Alan worked at from 2008.
Alan’s memoir focuses on the complex journey hand-rearing the rejected infants in his own home and the emotional bond that inevitably formed between human and newborn primate.
Alan Toyne hand-reared two western lowland gorillas at Bristol Zoo – photo: Summersdale Publishers
Part of the hand-rearing involved watching the infants through the night and even sharing a bed with the young Gorillas, named Afia and Hasani.
Alan has previously recalled how Hasani “would sit up in the middle of the night and he wasn’t due a feed, I would try and just go ‘no way’ and you’d try and make him go back to sleep.
“Then he would lie on his back and kick the duvet kind of up and down, there was a couple of times he’d fall out of bed and then you’d just hear this wail and you’d pick him up and put him back in the bed again.”
The memoir explores the bond between human and primate, and takes a unique glimpse at the intricate world of primate social dynamics with a vibrant set of characters, from the volatile Silverback Jock to the mysterious Sal and the stately Romi.
Main photo: Bristol Zoo
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