Today, New York’s Bronx Zoo — the biggest in America — boasts an exceptional collection of Congo Gorillas, kept in a generous enclosure.
Back in 1906, the zoo had another ape enclosure, which also contained an exhibit from the Congo.
But the staggering, shocking thing was that, in the early 20th century, the authorities had placed a human being alongside an orang-utan in their ape cage.
Ota Benga, a 4ft 11in Congolese pygmy, was kept in a cage in the Bronx Zoo in 1906, teased and taunted by visitors who often burned him with cigars
They then littered the cage with bones to suggest — completely wrongly — that he was a cannibal.
That human being was Ota Benga, a 7st 5lb Congolese pygmy, 4ft 11in tall and thought to be about 23 years old.
