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| Found: 525 pound Lowland Gorilla "Samson" as seen by visitors through glass at the New Milwaukee County Zoological Park, 101 No. 100 St, Milwaukee, Wis. Habitat: Africa Copyrighted by the L.L. Cook Co. from an Ektachrome Transparency. Circa 1960. |
Viewing Samson in his baby blue tile display case at the Milwaukee Zoo, with its thick glass smeared from his pounding fists and accented by his pungent odor, remains a vivid childhood memory. Ever a performer, Samson reportedly watched and reacted to people watching him acting outrageously make spectators jump back and gasp. Samson was legendary even to Wisconsin rural kids like us. His death from a heart attack in November 1981 at the age of 32 made the news. This herbivore whose diet included bread and meat for a time suffered five major heart attacks before pounding his chest one last time and falling dead before an audience.
