The Legend of The Koolookamba

From mythical unicorns and dragons to the more modern day Yeti and Bigfoot, humans have a long history of fascination with animal legends and lore.  

 

In 1860, the French-American explorer Paul du Chaillu became famous as the first modern outsider to describe the existence of gorillas in Central Africa. After his expedition, he also claimed, in his controversial 1861 book, Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa, to have discovered a species he called the Koolookamba.

 

In fact, du Chaillu shot a male primate in southwest Gabon and described it as a new sub-species of chimpanzee, smaller than an adult male gorilla, but stockier than a female gorilla. He declared it more closely resembled a man than any other ape and that its name mimicked its call of "Kooloo, kooloo."

 

The controversy lingers as Du Chaillu’s description differs from subsequent reports. The skeleton of du Chaillu’s Koolookamba can still be seen in the British Museum of Natural History, but its features resemble those of a mountain gorilla (rather than a lowland gorilla), so it’s impossible that this was a type of mountain chimpanzee. In Gabon today, 150 years after du Chaillu’s first expedition, there remains a belief among the human population in a chimpanzee-gorilla hybrid, which they still call the ‘Kool-kamba’.

 

Fact or fiction, this forest creature ignited Gorilla Tommy’s transformation from exploiter of the earth to a protector of the environment. If the Koolookamba is a myth, it’s a myth with a powerful impact.

 

Look carefully as you journey through The African Forest. While there is no signage pointing you in the right direction, you will see indications and likely even glimpses of the Koolookamba along the way. There are many hidden images; in essence, a Koolookamba waits around many corners.