On August 1, 1990, dozens of visitors at the Detroit Zoo watched an 18-year-old chimpanzee named Jo-Jo struggle to stay above water in the moat surrounding his exhibit. Chimpanzees generally can’t swim, and most are afraid of water. As the crowd looked on, a zoo worker tried to reach him with a pole. It wasn’t enough.
One visitor decided that wasn’t enough either.
“I Just Caught This Chimpanzee Flying Through The Air”
Rick Swope, a 33-year-old truck driver from Cement City, Michigan, was at the zoo with his wife and three children when he saw Jo-Jo go over the barrier. “I just caught out of the corner of my eye this chimpanzee flying through the air,” Swope later told the Tampa Bay Times. Jo-Jo had reportedly been fleeing a confrontation with another male chimp when he ended up in the moat.
“Everyone in the whole place was just standing around watching this monkey drown,” Swope said. When Jo-Jo went under a second time, Swope made his decision. “I knew I had to do something.”
Over The Fence, Into The Water
Swope scaled a four-foot barrier and jumped into the moat, which was roughly five feet deep and, by his own description, cold and murky. Full-grown chimpanzees can be several times stronger than an adult human, and Jo-Jo was still thrashing in the water when Swope reached him.
Swope got an arm around the chimp’s stomach and pulled him toward the island at the center of the exhibit. At one point during the rescue, he lost his grip and Jo-Jo slipped back under the surface. Swope went back for him, got hold of him again, and this time managed to haul him fully onto dry land.
“He was looking at me,” Swope told the Chicago Tribune. “I think he knew that I was helping him.”
What Happened Afterward
Once he was confident Jo-Jo was safely on solid ground, Swope climbed back over the barrier and returned to his family. Zoo officials later confirmed that both Swope and Jo-Jo were unharmed by the incident, though accounts differ slightly on exactly how badly shaken the chimp was immediately afterward.
Detroit Zoo director Steve Graham called Swope’s actions brave, but also reckless, pointing to the real danger involved in entering an enclosure with multiple chimpanzees that could have reacted aggressively to a stranger in their space. In the aftermath, the zoo said it would partially close the exhibit while reevaluating the moat’s design to prevent similar incidents.
Why The Moat Was So Dangerous
Zoo officials said at the time they weren’t sure exactly why Jo-Jo ended up in the water, though the prevailing account is that he was trying to escape a confrontation with another chimp and went over a barrier meant to keep the animals away from the moat’s edge. Because chimpanzees have relatively little body fat and a higher muscle density than humans, they tend to sink rather than float, making a fall into deep water especially dangerous for the species.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who rescued Jo-Jo the chimpanzee?
Rick Swope, a 33-year-old truck driver visiting the Detroit Zoo with his family, jumped into the moat and pulled the drowning chimp to safety.
Why don’t chimpanzees swim well?
Chimpanzees have relatively little body fat and more muscle mass than humans, which makes them prone to sinking rather than floating, and most chimps are instinctively afraid of deep water.
Did zoo staff try to help before Swope jumped in?
According to contemporaneous reporting, a zoo worker attempted to assist Jo-Jo using a pole before Swope entered the moat himself.
Was Rick Swope hurt during the rescue?
No. Both Swope and Jo-Jo were reported unharmed following the rescue, though zoo officials noted the risk involved given that multiple chimpanzees were present in the enclosure.
Did the zoo make any changes after the incident?
Yes. The Detroit Zoo said it would partially close the exhibit to reevaluate and redesign the moat to prevent similar incidents in the future.
How did Jo-Jo end up in the water?
Zoo officials said he was likely fleeing a confrontation with another male chimpanzee and went over a barrier meant to keep chimps away from the moat’s edge.
Sources: Tampa Bay Times/AP archive (“I Had To Do Something,” Aug. 1, 1990), Chicago Tribune, and Born Free USA’s incident record (Exotic Incident #2419).