Gorilla Adventure
Gorilla Adventure is a 1969 children's book by the Canadian-born American author Willard Price featuring his "Adventure" series characters, Hal and Roger Hunt. It depicts an expedition to capture a giant mountain gorilla for a circus.
The location was post-colonial Congo. As usual, the greatest danger posed to the brothers, and to the animals, came not from the wild beasts but in the form of humans. The two main primary antagonists were: one inept, boastful but cowardly Belgian (Andre Tieg) who pass himself off as a guide, and a poacher of gorillas, called Nero, whose primary M.O. was to slaughter all adults and take the children gorillas.
In the midst of the dangers, Roger got temporarily blinded by a spitting cobra. One villager refers to a gorilla as 'man who can't speak' a reference to gorilla intelligence.
The safari team are complete in this adventure.
Other persons
- A doctor in the field hospital who performs surgery on Gog. Gog was shot by Tieg
- Two diamond searchers. Gog holds Hal's hand and eye to eye contact ensures that Gog knows the truth.
Animals captured
| Species | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Male Gorilla | Gog | His family were slaughtered by Nero and he assumed the safari team to be the killers. |
| Two baby gorillas | Bubu & Nuru | Their entire band were killed by Nero and his gang. |
| Female Gorilla | Lady Luck | She is easily captured by Roger because she is distracted by wrestling with the white python. |
| Python | Snow White | Although this python is white in colour she is not an albino, as evidenced by her blue eyes. |
| Black Panther | Gog trapped Hal in an elephant pit and threw the panther into it. Hal captured the panther empty-handed, though he received serious injuries. | |
| Road Runner | ||
| Chimpanzee | The Good Samaritan | This chimpanzee gained his nickname by helping a colobus in the midst of volcano eruption. |
| Boomslang | Particularly notable for possessing two heads. | |
| Cobra | ||
| Mamba | ||
| Elephant Shrew | ||
| Bush Baby | ||
| Colobus | The Little Bishop |