Gorillas killed Gary Johnston's older brother, Tommy, when they went on a trip to the zoo as kids. Gary was acting and accidently fell into the gorilla exhibit. Tommy dived in to save Gary and succeeded in doing so, but died in the process because the gorillas attacked him instead of Gary. This horrific event has haunted Gary throughout the rest of his life because it was ultimately his acting that got his brother killed.
Background[]
Gorillas are the largest of the primates. They are ground-dwelling and predominantly herbivorous. They inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and (still under debate as of 2008) either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of a human, between 95 and 99% depending on what is counted, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forests in Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The Mountain Gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200–4,300 metres (7,200–14,100 ft). Lowland Gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with Western Lowland Gorillas living in Central West African countries and Eastern Lowland Gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.