Despite warning signs at the zoo, truck driver Rick Swope bravely jumped into a moat at the Detroit Zoo to rescue a drowning chimpanzee named Jo-Jo. While two male chimps were fighting, Jo-Jo slipped into the deep water and struggled to stay afloat.
Ignoring zoo staff telling him to get out, Swope swam through murky water and found the nearly lifeless chimp. Jo-Jo looked at him with a pleading expression, as if asking for help. Swope later said looking into Jo-Jo’s eyes was like looking into a human’s.
Zoo worker Jane Goodall shared that Jo-Jo’s life had been difficult, having lost his mother to poachers before coming to the zoo. She praised Swope’s courage, saying his rescue was one of the most remarkable and selfless acts.
