Tarzan Fans Honor Hero Gorilla Mother

Binti wasn’t the first gorilla to save a little boy. More than 80 years ago, Kala rescued an orphan who became “Lord of the Jungle.”

A group of fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote the fictional “Tarzan of the Apes” in 1912, has awarded Binti its first Kala award, named after Tarzan’s adoptive gorilla mother.

Bob Cook, a member of the Burroughs Bibliophiles Literary Society, said he saw the parallel when he heard about Binti rescuing a toddler who fell into the gorilla exhibit at a Chicago-area zoo on Aug. 16.

The honor was presented Saturday night at the 750-member society’s convention.