Posted on 12/31/2011 6:17:11 PM PST by decimon
The Thivillons have been caring for Digit the gorilla for more than a decade, but having a primate at home throws up some unlikely problems.
In a village near Lyon in south-east France, a couple have become local celebrities by virtue of their adopted child.
Digit, as she is known, is a gorilla and has been living in the same room as Pierre and Elaine Thivillon for nearly 13 years.
Their relationship began in 1999, when the young primate came into the care of the couple, who manage the zoo at Saint Martin la Plaine where she was born.
Within three days of her birth, it was clear that Digit's mother Pamela was refusing to feed her. The Thivillons took her into their care, bottle-feeding her during the day and returning her to her enclosure at night.
By 18 months old, the baby gorilla had begun to show a deep attachment to her foster parents. After an illness left her requiring 24-hour care, Pierre and Elaine took her into their bedroom at night, where she has slept ever since.
For the first 10 years, she snuggled up between the couple, but now at 130kg (287lbs) she has to have a bed of her own.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
People are weird.
Nope. Ain’t sayin’ it. Wouldn’t be prudent.
I wouldn’t advise breaking into their apartment.
I tried it and divorced him. LOL
Having a pet gorilla is one of my fantasy pets.
If it weren’t for all the shiat that would be laying about my place...
Just wait till some fool decides to break into their house in the middle of the night.
Well at least we have an answer to the question “Where does a gorilla sleep?”
Living with my ex wife wasn’t exactly a picnic.
Uh............NO!
Unfair to the gorilla and also unfair to the neighbors of these people. As far as I know, gorillas aren’t as aggressive as chimpanzees but are even more powerful. As much as these people might believe this gorilla is a loving member of the family, it’s still an undomesticated animal with far more intelligence than any pit bull and enough strength to tear an entire NFL team limb from limb. All it takes is one bad afternoon some day and this gorilla can perform more carnage than a small bomb.
I had the MOver/Under for this thread at 4, but you were probably wise ;)
I dunno. If you look at the photo, the three seem to be on the same page about life. British life, anyway, with a stiff upper chin.
In the meantime, anyone who breaks in to that place will discover how massively strong a gorilla is compared to a human (ie, about 8x).
If she can open a beer and make a ham sandwich, why not!
That still leaves the question about what he does in the woods...or...is that a bear?
Je crois qu’ils sont francais, n’est-ce pas?
IOW I think they are French. :-)
Thanks txhurl. I didn’t even know Lloyd Bridges was still alive.
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