Other name(s) | Sultan |
---|---|
Species | Gorilla gorilla |
Sex | Male |
Born |
c. 1920 Likely Gabon, French Equatorial Africa |
Died | May 1926 Likely London |
Notable role | Circus and zoo animal |
Years active | 1923–1926 |
Owner | Alyce Cunningham |
John Daniel II ( c. 1920–1926), originally called Sultan, was a Western gorilla who was captured in August 1923 [1] in the French Congo [2] when he was about three years old. The gorilla then passed into the possession of an Englishwoman named Alyce Cunningham, [3] who raised him as a successor to John Daniel I. He toured with Ringling Circus in America and was exhibited at the London Zoo before his death in 1926.
According to a 1924 press release, John Daniel II was taken from the same "gorilla village" as John Daniel I. [3] John Daniel II reportedly did not like men as a consequence of their involvement in his capture and as such needed a female chaperone at all times. He enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast, and took tea at 4 p.m.
John Daniel and Cunningham came to the United States from the UK in early 1924 on the SS Deutschland (1923). [2] John Daniel II lived with Cunningham at the McAlpin Hotel in New York and "even answered the door when visitors called." [4] That summer, John Daniel II and Cunningham toured with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. [5] Per a poster held in the Ringling Museum circusiana collection he was advertised as a "Genuine Gorilla from the Wilds of Africa." [6] Valerie Harrisse Walter sketched John Daniel II in his hotel room in 1924. [7] Walter later sculpted him in bronze. [8] American journalist Mildred Seydell often performed palm readings as a gimmick to gain access to interesting interview candidates; John Daniel II was one such subject. [9]
In the winter of 1924, John Daniel II and Cunningham returned to the UK. Press reports had it that John Daniel II was to be married in London to Jenny Lind, a " spinster" gorilla in the possession of Professor T. Alexander Barnes. [10] [11] Circa 1925, John Daniel II weighed about 80 lb (36 kg). [1] John Daniel II was exhibited at the London Zoo in 1925 and/or 1926, traveling to the zoo from his hotel by motorcar or taxi, arriving for his shift around 11 a.m. and leaving around 6 p.m. [12] One newspaper report claimed that John Daniel II, "the great chimpanzee, could smoke a pipe, ride a tricycle, chew tobacco, and tie his necktie." [13]
Daniel II died in London in approximately May 1926. [12] [14] The cause of death was "some internal trouble such as humans suffer from." [12] With the passing of the cosmopolitan John Daniel II, American newspapers reported that the only gorilla remaining in U.S. captivity was Congo, [14] a female eastern gorilla, who was eventually passed into the custody of Robert M. Yerkes. [15]