If you've ever fancied being a zookeeper, or knowing what it's like working directly with primates, then Alan Toyne's hugely enjoyable memoir ‘Gorillas in Our Midst' is just the book for you.
‘Gorillas in Our Midst' follows Toyne's years as a zookeeper from when he arrives at Bristol Zoo as a rookie, all the way through to the Covid-19 pandemic some years later that profoundly disrupted his work. Throughout this chatty, anecdotal account, readers are taken on an emotional journey through the highs and lows of tending gorillas.
If you're looking for a serious anthropological study of primate behaviour, then ‘Gorillas in Our Midst' might not have enough scientific detail for you. But for a ‘day in the life' account of what it's like as a zookeeper working in close proximity to gorillas in captivity, then the book will undoubtedly have strong appeal.
Toyne's engaging writing gives you a real sense of the look, smells and sounds of the gorilla enclosure, and an insight into the bond between keeper and animal. The book's main strengths is in placing the reader up close and personal with our fellow apes. A family tree depicting all of the gorillas you meet throughout the pages is a useful feature at the start of the book. Toyne characterises the gorillas brilliantly, so you get to know them as individuals, with unique personalities and traits.
Throughout ‘Gorillas in Our Midst' readers experience the ups and downs of major life events in the gorilla enclosure. Inevitably there are a few deaths to contend with, which readers of a more sensitive disposition may wish to be aware of. Happily, there are births too, but in captivity it's seldom plain sailing. One of the most fascinating passages of the book details the hand-rearing of a baby gorilla before she is reintroduced to the rest of the enclosure so that she can learn gorilla social behaviours. One of the females, Kera, has remained an outcast because she was never properly socialised with her own kind. Wanting to avoid the same outcome, the keepers take it in turns to nurture the infant Afia. Toyne takes her home to meet his family, and treats Afia with the care and attention any new-born would require. In one memorable passage, he writes that, “None of us as keepers would support having a pet primate, however I was unprepared for the instinctive eruption of parental affection Afia awoke in me.” Later too, we meet Hasani, another infant. The heart-in-mouth moments of the book come when surrogate parents are sought, with no guarantee that a maternal instinct will kick in.
Although I enjoyed the sections that detail the close camaraderie Toyne forms with his fellow keepers (and there is some choice language along the way), it's the interactions he records with the primates that are the most compelling. ‘Gorillas in Our Midst' is a persuasive case in favour of why zoos perform important work in the conservation of endangered species. Toyne's extraordinary journey is from keen novice zookeeper to one entrusted to hand-rear baby gorillas. It is a strong and emotionally engaging story that is full of humour, wisdom and honesty. ‘Gorillas in Our Midst' comes strongly recommended as an engrossing warts-and-all insight into the unusual life of a primate zookeeper.
Published by: Summersdale Publication date: 10 April 2025 Buy ‘Gorillas in Our Midst'
