Guy the Gorilla

Western lowland gorilla

Guy the Gorilla (1946–1978) was a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) who was London Zoo's most famous resident and often profiled on children's TV shows and natural history productions. The exact day of Guy's birth was unknown, but the official birthday was set by the Zoo as May 30, and he received large numbers of cards each year.

Guy arrived at the zoo on 5 November 1947, Guy Fawkes Night, hence his name. A baby, holding a small tin hot water bottle,

During pre production for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Dan Richter — who played the lead ape man ("Moonwatcher") in the film — studied Guy intently and modelled his acting and mime performance partly on Guy's behaviour. English musician David Dundas released his album Vertical Hold in 1978, which featured a song devoted to "Guy The Gorilla".

A statue of Guy by the sculptor David Wynne was erected in Crystal Palace Park in 1961. The Natural History Museum head taxidermist at the time of Guy's death, Arthur Hayward, was given the task of modelling and mounting Guy's skin. After nearly nine months of work, the re creation of Guy was put on display at the Natural History Museum in November 1982. Years later, Guy was taken out of public display and moved into the scientific study collections. As of late 2012, however, he has been returned to public display as part of the permanent new 'Treasures' exhibition in the museum's Cadogan Gallery. In 1982, Guy was commemorated by a bronze statue by William Timym, the charity which runs London zoo.