Snowflake was captured in the Río Muni region in Spanish Guinea on 1 October 1966 by ethnic Fang farmer Benito Mañé. Mañé had killed the rest of Snowflake's gorilla group (traditional in colour). Mañé then kept Snowflake at his home for four days before transporting him to Bata, where he was purchased by primatologistJordi Sabater Pi.[4]
Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language ("white gorilla") by his captor, he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu (Catalan for "little snowflake"[5]) by his keeper, Jordi Sabater Pi.[6][7]
Characteristicsedit
Snowflake was a western lowland gorilla with non-syndromic oculocutaneous albinism.[8][9][10] He had poor vision, though tests to determine whether he had a central blind spot did not find one.[11] Barcelona Zoo director Antonio Jonch wrote:
"The eye had a blueish sclera, a normal cornea, and a light blue iris which was very transparent to transillumination. Accommodation and refraction were normal. The media were transparent and the fundus of the eye normal and totally depigmented. The choroidalvessels were perfectly visible and the pupil was normal. The animal displayed marked photophobia, which caused it to close its eyes repeatedly when exposed to bright light. In diffuse light similar to that in its biotope, we calculated that it blinked on an average of 20 times a minute."[10]
Study of Snowflake's genome determined that his parents had 12% of their DNA in common, leading researchers to believe that his parents were uncle and niece. The same study revealed that his albinism was caused by a mutation of the SLC45A2 gene. Snowflake received the recessive gene from both parents, causing his albinism.[8][12]
Life in Barcelonaedit
Snowflake resting in his enclosureFloquet de Neu (August 1993)
Upon his arrival to Barcelona in November 1966, he was given an official reception by the then-mayor of Barcelona, Josep Maria de Porcioles, and called Blancanieves ("Snow White") in the newspaper Tele/Exprés.[13] He became famous, though, with the name given to him by Sabater when National Geographic featured him on the cover in March 1967, with the English name Snowflake. This name spread among the press (Stern, Life, Paris-Match). Sabater himself called the gorilla Copi or Floquet, and in the later years Nfumu.
Offspringedit
Snowflake fathered 22 offspring by three different mates, or "dams". Six of his offspring survived to adulthood.[14] None of Snowflake's offspring were albino, but all should be heterozygous, recessive carriers, for the albino gene.[15] Half of his grandchildren likely carry the albino gene. If both parents were albino gene carriers, they have a 25% chance of producing an albino offspring and a 50% chance that the offspring will be a carrier of the gene.[16]
As of September 2021, Snowflake had a total of 21 grandchildren (11 survived) and eight great-grandchildren (all living).[17] Snowflake's great-grandson N'Kou has pink fingers, which is perhaps suggestive of partial albinism.[citation needed]
Deathedit
In 2001, Snowflake was diagnosed with an unusual form of skin cancer, almost certainly related to his albinism.[18] By 2003, Snowflake's health began to deteriorate. After he began losing interest in his usual activities, isolating himself from other gorillas and exhibiting signs of pain, Snowflake's keepers decided to euthanize him.[19] The decision was publicly announced in September 2003.[14] Thousands of people visited Snowflake at the Barcelona Zoo before he was euthanized on 24 November 2003. At the time of his death, Snowflake was thought to be between 38 and 40 years old.[14][20]
A scholarship for research on primatology was created in memory of and homage to Snowflake. Snowflake's fame also helped to promote awareness of the endangered gorilla species.[19]
An illustration and brief description of Snowflake (as of 1969) appears in the Italian children nonfiction book series Guarda e Scopri Gli Animali.[22]
The gorilla became a main character in the novel Memòries d'en Floquet de Neu ("Snowflake's Memories") by Catalan writer Toni Sala.
Sabater Pi also dedicated a book to the gorilla, under the title Copito para Siempre (Snowflake Forever).
He also makes a brief appearance in Italo Calvino's novel Mr. Palomar – the passage is a meditation on loneliness, captivity, the burden of being unique in the world, and mortality.
In 2009 French musician Enzo Enzo [fr] released the album Toutim where the song Copito De Nieve De Barcelone is dedicated to Snowflake.[24]
In 2011, there was a live action/CGI film called Snowflake, the White Gorilla that depicts the fictional childhood of Snowflake (voiced by Kai Stroink in the original Spanish version and by Ariana Grande in the English dub).
Albino gorillas in other mediaedit
Other albino (or white-furred) gorillas similar in appearance to Snowflake have appeared in different media.
Prior to the birth of Snowflake, the film Son of Kong featured King Kong's son, which was an albino gorilla that was twice the height of a human and was named "Little Kong".
In Legends of Chima, the Gorilla Tribe member Grizzam has white fur similar to Snowflake.
A white-furred gorilla appears in the French superhero comic series Photonik (featuring in "African Devil"; Volume 1, Mustang #66, 1981),[25] serving as the totem for an evil shaman who wishes to rule all of Africa. As was the case with Snowflake, his entire group is killed by an unscrupulous poacher, and the white gorilla sold into captivity.
In the Planet of the Apes franchise, an albino western lowland gorilla named Winter (voiced and motion-captured by Aleks Paunovic), appears in Caesar's tribe and defected to the Colonel's side out of fear.
In the 2018 film Rampage (which is based on the video game series of the same name), George (motion-captured by Jason Liles) is albino in the movie adaptation to differentiate him from King Kong. Dwayne Johnson stated that George is based on Snowflake.
In World of Warcraft, Uhk'loc is a rare tamable gorilla NPC with a unique silver/white skin.[26]
In Zoo Empire, you can unlock the Albino gorilla as a specie. There's also a program named Snowflake at the education center.
^. telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^Sorokanich, Lara (June 18, 2013). . nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^Riopelle, A.J., "Snowflake the world's first white gorilla", National Geographic 131: 442–8, March 1967
^"The Name Is Snowflake", The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 28, 1967
^Sabater's pictures 2009-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, at the Sabater Pi Collection at the Universitat de Barcelona
^"Little Snowflake, World's First White Gorilla", The Palm Beach Post, February 22, 1967
^ abJavier Prado-Martinez; Irene Hernando-Herraez; Belen Lorente-Galdos; Marc Dabad; Oscar Ramirez; Carlos Baeza-Delgado; Carlos Morcillo-Suarez; Can Alkan; Fereydoun Hormozdiari; Emanuele Raineri; Jordi Estellé; Marcos Fernandez-Callejo; Mònica Valles; Lars Ritscher; Torsten Schöneberg; Elisa de la Calle-Mustienes; Sònia Casillas; Raquel Rubio-Acero; Marta Melé; Johannes Engelken; Mario Caceres; Jose Luis Gomez-Skarmeta9; Marta Gut; Jaume Bertranpetit; Ivo G Gut; Teresa Abello; Evan E Eichler; Ismael Mingarro; Carles Lalueza-Fox; Arcadi Navarro; Tomas Marques-Bonet (May 31, 2013). "The genome sequencing of an albino western lowland gorilla reveals inbreeding in the wild". BMC Genomics. 14: 363. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-14-363. PMC3673836. PMID 23721540.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ abDuplaix-Hall, Nicole; Antonio Jonch (1967). "The White Gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla) At Barcelona Zoo". International Zoo Yearbook. Vol. XIII. London: Zoological Society of London. p. 196. OCLC 604039131.
^Riopelle, A.J., "Growing up with Snowflake", National Geographic, 138:490–503, October 1970
^Pappas, Stephanie (June 17, 2013). "Albino Gorilla 'Snowflake' Was Inbred, Gene Sequence Shows". The Huffington Post. from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
^Davis, James R. (June 1, 2014). "0281 – SNOWFLAKE". Dewar Wildlife. Dewar Wildlife Trust, Inc. from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
^Staff writers (September 22, 2003). "Albino gorilla dying of skin cancer". BBC News. from the original on June 7, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
^ ab"Snowflake: The White Gorilla". pbs.org. 9 June 2008. from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^"Zoo Has Euthanized Ailing Albino Gorilla". Los Angeles Times. November 25, 2003. from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^Mario Faustinelli and Rinaldo D. D'Ami: Guarda e Scopri Gli Animali Volume 11: Dell'Africa. AMZ, Milano 1969.
^Collins, Billy (October 2008). "Poetry: Billy Collins, 'Searching'". theatlantic.com. from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
^"Enzo Enzo, Toutim (best of)". from the original on 2016-03-04.
^Cool French Comics: Photonik. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
Tavella, Elizabeth (2023). "Reframing Whiteness in the Zoo: Snowflake the Gorilla in Modern Media". In Thurston-Torres, Jonathan W. (ed.). Animals and Race.
January 01, 1970
snowflake, gorilla, snowflake, catalan, floquet, spanish, copito, nieve, french, flocon, neige, 1964, november, 2003, western, lowland, gorilla, world, only, known, albino, gorilla, date, kept, barcelona, barcelona, catalonia, spain, from, 1966, until, death, . Snowflake Catalan Floquet de Neu Spanish Copito de Nieve French Flocon de Neige c 1964 24 November 2003 was a western lowland gorilla who is the world s only known albino gorilla to date 1 He was kept at Barcelona Zoo in Barcelona Catalonia Spain from 1966 until his death in 2003 2 3 SnowflakeSnowflakeSpeciesWestern lowland gorillaSexMaleBornc 1964 Spanish GuineaDiedNovember 24 2003 2003 11 24 aged 38 39 Barcelona Zoo Barcelona Catalonia SpainYears active1966 2003Known forBeing the world s only known albino gorilla Contents 1 History 2 Characteristics 3 Life in Barcelona 3 1 Offspring 4 Death 5 Legacy 6 Albino gorillas in other media 7 See also 8 References 9 Further readingHistory editSnowflake was captured in the Rio Muni region in Spanish Guinea on 1 October 1966 by ethnic Fang farmer Benito Mane Mane had killed the rest of Snowflake s gorilla group traditional in colour Mane then kept Snowflake at his home for four days before transporting him to Bata where he was purchased by primatologist Jordi Sabater Pi 4 Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language white gorilla by his captor he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu Catalan for little snowflake 5 by his keeper Jordi Sabater Pi 6 7 Characteristics editSnowflake was a western lowland gorilla with non syndromic oculocutaneous albinism 8 9 10 He had poor vision though tests to determine whether he had a central blind spot did not find one 11 Barcelona Zoo director Antonio Jonch wrote The eye had a blueish sclera a normal cornea and a light blue iris which was very transparent to transillumination Accommodation and refraction were normal The media were transparent and the fundus of the eye normal and totally depigmented The choroidal vessels were perfectly visible and the pupil was normal The animal displayed marked photophobia which caused it to close its eyes repeatedly when exposed to bright light In diffuse light similar to that in its biotope we calculated that it blinked on an average of 20 times a minute 10 Study of Snowflake s genome determined that his parents had 12 of their DNA in common leading researchers to believe that his parents were uncle and niece The same study revealed that his albinism was caused by a mutation of the SLC45A2 gene Snowflake received the recessive gene from both parents causing his albinism 8 12 Life in Barcelona edit nbsp Snowflake resting in his enclosure source source source source source source source Floquet de Neu August 1993 Upon his arrival to Barcelona in November 1966 he was given an official reception by the then mayor of Barcelona Josep Maria de Porcioles and called Blancanieves Snow White in the newspaper Tele Expres 13 He became famous though with the name given to him by Sabater when National Geographic featured him on the cover in March 1967 with the English name Snowflake This name spread among the press Stern Life Paris Match Sabater himself called the gorilla Copi or Floquet and in the later years Nfumu Offspring edit Snowflake fathered 22 offspring by three different mates or dams Six of his offspring survived to adulthood 14 None of Snowflake s offspring were albino but all should be heterozygous recessive carriers for the albino gene 15 Half of his grandchildren likely carry the albino gene If both parents were albino gene carriers they have a 25 chance of producing an albino offspring and a 50 chance that the offspring will be a carrier of the gene 16 As of September 2021 Snowflake had a total of 21 grandchildren 11 survived and eight great grandchildren all living 17 Snowflake s great grandson N Kou has pink fingers which is perhaps suggestive of partial albinism citation needed Death editIn 2001 Snowflake was diagnosed with an unusual form of skin cancer almost certainly related to his albinism 18 By 2003 Snowflake s health began to deteriorate After he began losing interest in his usual activities isolating himself from other gorillas and exhibiting signs of pain Snowflake s keepers decided to euthanize him 19 The decision was publicly announced in September 2003 14 Thousands of people visited Snowflake at the Barcelona Zoo before he was euthanized on 24 November 2003 At the time of his death Snowflake was thought to be between 38 and 40 years old 14 20 Legacy editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message nbsp A room dedicated to Snowflake The asteroid 95962 Copito discovered by Spanish astronomer J Manteca is named in his honour 21 A scholarship for research on primatology was created in memory of and homage to Snowflake Snowflake s fame also helped to promote awareness of the endangered gorilla species 19 An illustration and brief description of Snowflake as of 1969 appears in the Italian children nonfiction book series Guarda e Scopri Gli Animali 22 The gorilla became a main character in the novel Memories d en Floquet de Neu Snowflake s Memories by Catalan writer Toni Sala Sabater Pi also dedicated a book to the gorilla under the title Copito para Siempre Snowflake Forever He also makes a brief appearance in Italo Calvino s novel Mr Palomar the passage is a meditation on loneliness captivity the burden of being unique in the world and mortality Nature on PBS devoted an episode to him Former U S Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote of Snowflake in his poem Searching published in his 2008 collection Ballistics 23 Snowflake appears on the front cover of dance music act Basement Jaxx s album Rooty citation needed While playing at FC Barcelona Dutch football player Ronald Koeman was nicknamed Copito de Nieve because of his blond hair Snowflake appeared on The Triplets Les Tres Bessones episode The Triplets meet King Kong as a guest of honor for the appearance of King Kong in Barcelona s Olympic Stadium In 2009 French musician Enzo Enzo fr released the album Toutim where the song Copito De Nieve De Barcelone is dedicated to Snowflake 24 In 2011 there was a live action CGI film called Snowflake the White Gorilla that depicts the fictional childhood of Snowflake voiced by Kai Stroink in the original Spanish version and by Ariana Grande in the English dub Albino gorillas in other media editOther albino or white furred gorillas similar in appearance to Snowflake have appeared in different media Prior to the birth of Snowflake the film Son of Kong featured King Kong s son which was an albino gorilla that was twice the height of a human and was named Little Kong In Legends of Chima the Gorilla Tribe member Grizzam has white fur similar to Snowflake A white furred gorilla appears in the French superhero comic series Photonik featuring in African Devil Volume 1 Mustang 66 1981 25 serving as the totem for an evil shaman who wishes to rule all of Africa As was the case with Snowflake his entire group is killed by an unscrupulous poacher and the white gorilla sold into captivity In The Flash Solovar was depicted as an albino gorilla In the Planet of the Apes franchise an albino western lowland gorilla named Winter voiced and motion captured by Aleks Paunovic appears in Caesar s tribe and defected to the Colonel s side out of fear In the 2018 film Rampage which is based on the video game series of the same name George motion captured by Jason Liles is albino in the movie adaptation to differentiate him from King Kong Dwayne Johnson stated that George is based on Snowflake In World of Warcraft Uhk loc is a rare tamable gorilla NPC with a unique silver white skin 26 In Zoo Empire you can unlock the Albino gorilla as a specie There s also a program named Snowflake at the education center See also editList of individual apesReferences edit Las cronicas sobre Copito en La Vanguardia Albino animals from Snowflake the white gorilla to White Diamond the alligator telegraph co uk Archived from the original on October 26 2014 Retrieved October 25 2014 Sorokanich Lara June 18 2013 Albino Gorilla Was Result of Inbreeding nationalgeographic com Archived from the original on July 9 2014 Retrieved October 25 2014 Riopelle A J Snowflake the world s first white gorilla National Geographic 131 442 8 March 1967 The Name Is Snowflake The Pittsburgh Post Gazette May 28 1967 Sabater s pictures Archived 2009 08 04 at the Wayback Machine at the Sabater Pi Collection at the Universitat de Barcelona Little Snowflake World s First White Gorilla The Palm Beach Post February 22 1967 a b Javier Prado Martinez Irene Hernando Herraez Belen Lorente Galdos Marc Dabad Oscar Ramirez Carlos Baeza Delgado Carlos Morcillo Suarez Can Alkan Fereydoun Hormozdiari Emanuele Raineri Jordi Estelle Marcos Fernandez Callejo Monica Valles Lars Ritscher Torsten Schoneberg Elisa de la Calle Mustienes Sonia Casillas Raquel Rubio Acero Marta Mele Johannes Engelken Mario Caceres Jose Luis Gomez Skarmeta9 Marta Gut Jaume Bertranpetit Ivo G Gut Teresa Abello Evan E Eichler Ismael Mingarro Carles Lalueza Fox Arcadi Navarro Tomas Marques Bonet May 31 2013 The genome sequencing of an albino western lowland gorilla reveals inbreeding in the wild BMC Genomics 14 363 doi 10 1186 1471 2164 14 363 PMC 3673836 PMID 23721540 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link International Wildlife Encyclopedia Vol 20 Marshall Cavendish Corporation New York 1970 pg 2710 a b Duplaix Hall Nicole Antonio Jonch 1967 The White Gorilla Gorilla g gorilla At Barcelona Zoo International Zoo Yearbook Vol XIII London Zoological Society of London p 196 OCLC 604039131 Riopelle A J Growing up with Snowflake National Geographic 138 490 503 October 1970 Pappas Stephanie June 17 2013 Albino Gorilla Snowflake Was Inbred Gene Sequence Shows The Huffington Post Archived from the original on June 6 2014 Retrieved June 6 2014 anuaris cat Archived 2008 10 14 at the Wayback Machine a b c Meet Snowflake The World s Only Known Albino Gorilla thenigertimes com November 29 2003 Archived from the original on March 16 2015 Retrieved October 25 2014 What Is An Albino Monkey And How Rare Are They Technology Org www technology org 2022 10 22 Retrieved 2022 12 11 Albinism nhs uk 2017 11 23 Retrieved 2022 12 11 Davis James R June 1 2014 0281 SNOWFLAKE Dewar Wildlife Dewar Wildlife Trust Inc Archived from the original on June 6 2014 Retrieved June 6 2014 Staff writers September 22 2003 Albino gorilla dying of skin cancer BBC News Archived from the original on June 7 2004 Retrieved June 1 2013 a b Snowflake The White Gorilla pbs org 9 June 2008 Archived from the original on October 26 2014 Retrieved October 25 2014 Zoo Has Euthanized Ailing Albino Gorilla Los Angeles Times November 25 2003 Archived from the original on December 11 2014 Retrieved October 25 2014 Asteroide Copito de Nieve Archived 2007 03 17 at the Wayback Machine Mario Faustinelli and Rinaldo D D Ami Guarda e Scopri Gli Animali Volume 11 Dell Africa AMZ Milano 1969 Collins Billy October 2008 Poetry Billy Collins Searching theatlantic com Archived from the original on October 26 2014 Retrieved October 25 2014 Enzo Enzo Toutim best of Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Cool French Comics Photonik Retrieved July 20 2018 Uhk loc Further reading editRiopelle A J Snowflake the world s first white gorilla National Geographic 131 442 8 March 1967 Unique in all gorilladom Roman Luera Carbo s Snowflake Life 62 69 70 March 31 1967 Riopelle A J Growing up with Snowflake National Geographic 138 490 503 October 1970 Jonch Antonio The White Gorilla Gorilla g gorilla At Barcelona Zoo International Zoo Yearbook Vol XIII 1967 pg 196 Schmeck Harold M Jr First Known White Gorilla Is Found The New York Times F 23 pgs 1 5 amp 41 2 Rare albino gorilla dies The Montreal Gazette November 25 2003 pg A 21 Gerritsen Vivienne Baillie August 2004 Snowy stardom Protein Spotlight SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics https www pbs org wnet nature snowflake Nature episode Snowflake The White Gorilla at PBS org Tavella Elizabeth 2023 Reframing Whiteness in the Zoo Snowflake the Gorilla in Modern Media In Thurston Torres Jonathan W ed Animals and Race Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Snowflake gorilla amp oldid 1220554436, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
