In 1986, 5-year-old Levan Merritt, along with his brothers, were taken to the zoo by his loving parents. What was supposed to be a perfectly normal day quickly turned into an utter nightmare that would affect the whole family for the rest of their lives.
The family had been looking at all the animal exhibits that day, enjoying themselves immensely. They had looked at the reptile house and the mouse house, everything was perfectly ordinary in every single way when they decided to look into the great gorilla enclosure.
But for the Merritt family, August 30, 1986, would become a very important date for them all. As the boys looked down at the hulking beasts, Levan decided to climb up to get a better look. As he peered down, he suddenly lost his footing and plummeted 20 feet.
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. As the Merritt family and onlookers alike screamed in absolute terror, a huge silverback gorilla named Jambo slowly walked up to the unconscious little boy.
Jambo, a proud father of multiple baby gorillas himself, seemed to instinctively realize that this little baby, while not a gorilla, was in sore need of help.
Amazingly, the whole occurrence was captured on tape, a rarity back in the days before smartphones and cheap cameras.
Please watch the harrowing video below, and you'll really get a sense of how amazing this story really is!
The whole family was excited to visit the Jersey Zoo. Mom and Dad happily explored the zoo with their darling little children. Little did they know that Levan (the boy in blue) was about to come face-to-face with one of the most powerful beasts of the jungle.
Falling 20 feet, the little boy was knocked unconscious. While he was out, a huge gorilla named Jambo walked up and began to pet the little boy. As terrified onlookers feared the worst, Jambo protected the boy from the other gorillas in the enclosure.
The boy was pulled out of the enclosure to the relief of all. What could have resulted in a tragedy gave the whole family perspective. Levan grew up to love animals and has kept in touch with the Jersey Zoo over the years. He even used the intense story to impress his wife-to-be Amanda!
That day could have ended completely differently, but instead Levan is busy raising his own children. He plans on taking them to the same zoo to look at Jambo's offspring one day; he'll just make sure that no one falls in this time!
Jambo passed away in 1992, and while he will certainly be missed, he'll always be remembered as a hero. He went on to raise 15 baby gorillas in his time, and when an honorary statue was made in his memory, Levan was there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony!
Please watch the incredible video below featuring the dramatic rescue of little Levan.
And please SHARE this incredible story if you think Jambo was a great gorilla!
