Brookfield Zoo's gorilla Binti Jua shot to fame in 1996 when a three-year-old boy climbed the wall of his enclosure and fell 23 feet.

The child suffered a fracture to one of his hands and a deep cut on his face, leaving him unconscious. Zoo visitors near the enclosure panicked when they saw a gorilla approaching the unconscious boy, believing it could hurt him even more.

But the visitors were surprised when they saw that the huge gorilla (8 years old at the time) picked up the child and held him in his arms as if he were his own baby, and then headed towards the door where the keepers had access to the enclosure. It even protected him from other gorillas that wanted to get closer.

He finally laid him down on the floor when he saw the door open and stepped aside so the guardians could collect him.

The child was taken to the hospital where he was recovered. The incident sparked a debate about Binti Jua's behavior; whether it was "animal altruism" or a result of her training at the zoo as she was raised by humans since she was born (her mother rejected her).