Anyone else here remember Samson the gorilla?

[Archae]

From the Milwaukee Zoo?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=186x18874

[cmkramer]

1. I remember him

Our grandparents lived in Milwaukee and when I was about 6 and my sister was 5, we went to the Milwaukee Zoo. Anyway, we made a stop at his cage and when he saw my sister, he started pounding his chest and hollering. She ran out screaming.

Three years later, we make a return trip and he does the same thing upon seeing Theresa which of couse made everyone laugh. From then on, we always referred to Samson as "Theresa's boyfriend".

Grandma sent us the article about the time he got out of his cage and captioned it "He must have been trying to get to the airport so he could go see Theresa."

[ballabosh]

2. I remember him

My mom was from Wisconsin, so we spent a lot of time in Milwaukee.

When we saw him there as kids he was just pacing back and forth and glaring at all the gawkers. And then, with no warning, he slammed his fist against the glass. I think everyone in the room jumped about eight feet in the air, those that didn't go scrambling for the exits, that is. It was extremely loud and I still can't believe the glass didn't break.

It made me sad to think of it later, because he seemed so unhappy.

[Archae]

3. Like I said in the Wisconsin forum...

During the 60's and 70's, if you didn't have the crud scared out of you by Samson at least once, you weren't a true Wisconsinite. :D