Raising America's Zoo: How Two Wild Gorillas Helped Transform the National Zoo (2017), by Kara Arundel, is a fascinating non-fiction book that is both a history of western lowland gorillas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and also a history of the zoo itself. The book begins with a focus on Arthur "Nick" Arundel, Kara's father-in-law, as he attempts to obtain a young couple of gorillas from the Belgian Congo in 1955. That situation is then set aside as the book explores the origins of the National Zoological Park, the zoo's first gorilla (named N'Gi) and director William Mann's long tenure at the establishment. This section of the book is extremely interesting but at times slightly unfocused as it bounces around between the early years of the National Zoo and a look at a junior Nick Arundel's attempts to bring giraffes to the facility. Errors are few and far between, other than perhaps on page 9 the Central Park Zoo being called "New York City's Central Zoo" and on page 61 there is mention of "about 700 cages didn't even have labels" in regards to the financial struggles of the fledgling zoo. I've personally visited hundreds of zoos and aquariums and I've never imagined a zoological destination with more than 700 cages. Would that be accurate? The book gathers steam with many pages discussing the impact that the gorillas Nikumba and Moka made on both visitors and zoo professionals, and with the stunning revelation that a young toddler from British Columbia, Canada, was mauled to death by a lion in 1958. "If there was any good to have come from this tragic accident, it was that the zoo was finally getting the attention it needed to make overdue improvements" and the 1960s saw the blossoming of FONZ (Friends of the National Zoo) and a new Master Plan. Giant pandas arrived in 1972 and "that following Sunday, 75,000 people waited in a quarter-mile-long line to welcome the furry diplomats". There are countless more terrific insights into the various gorilla troops that called the zoo home over the decades, a shocking couple of pages in regards to a lead poisoning epidemic that killed off approximately 50% of the zoo's primates "over a 15-year period from the mid-50s to the early 1970s" and many more tidbits of information that are not readily available in other zoo books. As great as the later chapters on gorillas are, one of my favourite sections is all about the opening of the CRC (Conservation and Research Center) in the early 1970s. The 3,150-acres in Front Royal, Virginia, about an hour from the National Zoo, is profiled and that facility is now known as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (as of 2010). I'm not sure that I own another zoo book that provides as much information about this little-known 'satellite zoo' and the great work that has been accomplished there. Kara Arundel has worked as a journalist for more than two decades and this shows in her writing style as the book is packed with facts on every page. There are 35 pages of EndNotes and that illustrates the due diligence of her efforts. Other than a slight lack of focus during the first few chapters, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is a valuable addition to my library. I only wish that it was longer, as at 178 pages the book is easy enough to read in a couple of evenings. It would be fantastic if the author was to one day publish a longer history of the National Zoo, as that famous institution deserves to be honoured with a lengthy tome. Lastly, I should point out that in a future issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News there will be a lengthier, more detailed review of this book by Chairman Tim Brown. I'm looking forward to reading his write-up and I've already heard that it will be another positive review of this excellent new book. Scott Richardson
Nikumba and Moka were the third pair of Gorillas to breed in captivity, after Columbus and Basel, and their first baby Tomoka, born 9.9.61 was the fourth gorilla born in a zoo and the first male in the USA. They had two further babies and Nikumba also bred with a second partner Femelle after Moka died.
You would probably really enjoy the book as there are many details about the gorilla families over the years at the National Zoo, with a focus on Nikumba and Moka.
I shall look out for it... this is in the realm of a historical account nowadays but I remember the first Washington gorilla birth well, as in those days each birth was still big news. Also I visited Washington once in the 1970's when I saw both Nikumba and Tomoka(Moka had died by then).
