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“Each year Willie B.’s birthday was celebrated in a big way
—with free admission to the zoo and a party complete with

streamers, balloons, and treats.”

11 Willie was also quite the party animal—but because he was born in
the wild, his actual birthday was unknown. The zoo recorded his birthday
as May 8, 1958, a combination of his estimated age (which is probably

accurate to within a few months) and the date of his arrival at the zoo
(May 8, 1961). Each year Willie B.’s birthday was celebrated in a big way
—with free admission to the zoo and a party complete with streamers,
balloons, and treats. Willie B. usually received a birthday basket filled with
his favorite fruits: melons, grapes, kiwis, and strawberries. The zoo staff and
visitors sang “Happy Birthday” and blew out the candles on his birthday
cake. They served a bakery cake to the public and a special gorilla cake to
the “birthday gorilla.”

12 On his twenty-fifth birthday, a local company donated a colored
television set, which hung from the ceiling outside his enclosure. People
asked which television show Willie preferred. Did the big gorilla enjoy the
drama of soap operas, the action of a football game, or a good movie? A
test was set up in hopes of finding the answer. Three television sets were
placed in his viewing area, each with a different channel on. Supplied with

snacks, a man sat behind the middle television set observing Willie B.
Instead of watching any of the shows, the gorilla simply stared at the man
eating his food. Clearly Willie B. preferred people-watching—so perhaps at
the zoo, we are the most entertaining show of all.

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