Toto (gorilla)

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Toto (1931–1968) (a.k.a. M'Toto meaning "Little Child" in Swahili) ^[1] was a gorilla that was adopted and raised very much like a human child.

A. Maria Hoyt adopted the baby female gorilla orphaned by a hunt in French Equatorial Africa in 1931. Mrs. Hoyt's husband killed the baby gorilla's father for a museum piece, and his guides killed its mother for fun.^[1] Mrs. Hoyt moved to Cuba to provide a more tropical home for Toto. At the age of four or five, Toto adopted a kitten named Principe, carrying the kitten with her everywhere. When Toto became too difficult to manage for a private keeper, she was leased to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as a potential mate for another gorilla, Gargantua, a.k.a. Buddy. Toto died in 1968. Toto is buried at "Sandy Lane" Kennels Pet Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

Further reading[]

• Toto and I: A Gorilla in the Family (1941) by A. Maria Hoyt
• Eve & the Apes (1988) by Emily Hahn
• Gorilla (Jan 27th 1941) Life Magazine