Gorilla in Africa. 19th century engraving • ISTOCK The publication, in 1859, of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin heightens the interest of scientists and the general public in apes, which Darwin believes share a common ancestry with mankind in the chain of evolution. The progression of the exploration of Africa brings always more new information on this continent and even allows the discovery of new species which seem to confirm the Darwinian theory. One of them is the gorilla, which today we know is one of our closest relatives. A very popular primate In 1847, American missionary Thomas Savage gave the first description of the animal, based on a skeleton discovered in what is now Gabon. Based on this discovery, several scientific articles are working to define this new species of primate called "gorilla", a term used since antiquity by the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator to speak of hairy women seen on the coasts of Africa. In 1861, the Travels and Adventures in Equatorial Africa were published. , written by an obscure American explorer of French origin. Paul Belloni Du Chaillu recounts his wanderings on Gabonese soil and declares having discovered 80 species of animals. The dramatic depiction of his encounter with the first gorilla and how he chased away a few individuals captivates readers. His growing popularity led him to organize conferences, during which he retraced his African adventures by exhibiting specimens of stuffed gorillas. Du Chaillu gives Western audiences what they expect from Africa:intrigue, drama and exoticism. If he does not present himself as the discoverer of the primate, he claims on the other hand to be the first white man to have hunted one and to have studied this animal in its natural environment. However, his scientific claims and his exaggerated descriptions of the physique, behavior and character of gorillas were quickly the subject of a discredit campaign on the part of the scientific community. Du Chaillu, scholar or charlatan? His work contains a host of ambiguities and contradictions, but it is above all his account of the gorillas that is disputed. It is doubted that he was the one who hunted the animals, and he is accused of having copied earlier descriptions by missionaries based on local folklore and African hunting accounts. In reality, Du Chaillu studied at a missionary school in Gabon, where he was welcomed by John Wilson, the man who brought Savage the first gorilla skeleton years earlier. Aggravating circumstance for Du Chaillu:the spread of a rumor about his origins. He is the bastard of a French merchant and a black or mulatto woman from Reunion. A "racial" fact that accentuates the hostility of the scientific world towards the explorer. In 1861, the gorilla skulls brought back by Du Chaillu became the centerpieces of the fiery debates of the Victorian era on human evolution. Although scientists accused him of embellishing his story, Du Chaillu continued to enjoy the favor of the public, who now associated him with the discovery of the gorilla. At a time when evolutionary theories are turning the world upside down, he explains in his Voyages that this monkey is "half-man, half-beast". In 1861, the gorilla skulls he brought back became the centerpieces of the fiery debates of the Victorian era on human evolution. Two years later, the explorer, whom scientists denigrate by calling him a simple gorilla hunter, undertakes his second exploration. He draws a new book from it, The Country of Ashango , in which he talks about the discovery of small humans:the Pygmies. Has Du Chaillu just discovered the missing link in evolution? In reality, it is likely that the explorer did not himself hunt the gorillas he presents in the West. He distorted and exaggerated his account by turning the gorilla into a ferocious and brutal creature, a description of the primate that does not agree with later studies. Despite this, primatologists and explorers continued to evoke Du Chaillu by revising, correcting or denying his account. In any case, his name is forever associated with what he himself has defined as "the king of the African forest". A huge, roaring creature Du Chaillu describes his first encounter with a gorilla:“It was an appearance that I will never forget. He appeared to be nearly six feet (1.80 m); his body was immense, his chest monstrous, his arms of incredible muscular energy. […] Our sight did not frighten him. He stood there […] and beat his chest with his oversized fists. […] It is their way of challenging their enemy; and, at the same time, he uttered enormous roars”.
