For Sunninghill resident Peter Norton’s 60th birthday the greatest gift he could envision was the opportunity to take a photo with his triplet sons in front of Johannesburg Zoo’s Max the Gorilla statue.
Norton worked with Max, Johannesburg Zoo’s former star attraction, when Max was first brought to the zoo from Frankfurt Zoo in Germany at the age of two.
In 1997 Max rose to instant stardom when a burglar jumped into his enclosure while trying to escape police capture. Max ‘apprehended’ the criminal and was himself shot twice in the process.
Although Max recovered from the ordeal the bullet was never removed.
Throughout his life Max remained a hero and a major attraction at the zoo.
In 2004 Max died in his sleep at Johannesburg Zoo.
The cause was revealed to be congestive heart and renal failure which are both signs of old age in gorillas.
Norton was still a zoology student at Wits when he worked with Max and shared hours with the young gorilla in which the two formed a special bond. Norton went on to play an important role in nature conservation efforts in the Northern and Eastern Cape.
He also worked as a consultant in the bid to get Mapungubwe declared a World Heritage Site.
Five years ago the conservationist suffered a stroke after a car accident which has impacted his ability to communicate and work.
Norton’s wife, Diane, explained that for her husband’s birthday this year he wanted to pay tribute to Max the Gorilla and remember the years when both Norton and Max were just youngsters.
