Snowflake

see also: Etymology of Snowflake

Snowflake ( Ca Floquet de Neu in Catalan and Ca Copito de Nieve in Castilian) is single the Gorille known Albinos, and undoubtedly the most famous representative of its species (gorilla of the Western plains - Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Captured any young person in Guinea Equatoriale (at the time: Spanish Guinea) in 1966, it was brought back to Spain by a Spanish Primatologue, Jordi Sabater pi, which had it captive overdraft at a hunter of the tribe Fang. It then became the principal attraction of the Zoological garden of Barcelona and the mascot of the city.

Adult, it reaches the weight of 187 kg and the size of 1,63 Mr. During his captivity, it had 21 children with 3 different females. None of his/her children and grandchildren is albino but all his/her children are carrying the change and can have transmitted it to some his/her small children.

Snowflake died by Euthanasie, in November 2003 following a cancer of the skin, probably due to its albinism, diagnosed since 2001. It had then nearly 40 years, age sizeable for a gorilla which generally does not exceed the 25 years in freedom.

The large white monkey was incinerated and its ashes laid out in the first prototype of the Bios ballot box, designed by two Spanish designers. Bios is a ballot box of a a little special kind: manufactured only with biodegradable materials (cellulose and coconut bark), it contains peat and a seed of tree. One adds to it ashes of the missing, which will contribute to make grow the tree once the buried ballot box. The idea being to replace the cemeteries by forests. Its ashes were buried, the April 23rd 2004, with seed of a African tree, the Marronnier of the Cape.

The town of Barcelona plans to dedicate a monument or a street to him.

The newspaper the Truth (number 2) had published a homage of Anne-Sophie Benoit at the time of died of the large monkey. Here an extract:

Those which met this gorilla and which really liked it never had the coarseness to address the Parole to him, even less to call it by a name which never was not it his. Our so unimportant language is abusive for the Monkeys and our “Intelligence” is for them the sign even Evil.
“Snowflake” is not the cuddly toy of nice human, it is the martyr even of the simiesque race. All its life it lived surrounded by patient-mental men. It is at the two years age, in Guinea Equatoriale, on the sifted body of balls of his/her mother, that this monkey made knowledge with the human one. For its misfortune, it was white and its eyes were blue. The Man, always faithful to its chromosome 21, began to adore it and dispatched a regiment of specialists to analyze his albinism. The small gorilla quickly became a star and was sent to the Zoo of Barcelona.
Stuffed antidepressants to support the human company, the monkey piled up again every afternoon like principal employee of the Zoological gardens. Crowd of “human” primates came reluquer this gorilla immaculate, lubricating the cage of their moistened fingers of Churros. Decided well to abrutir it, friends of the animals - always them! - festivals for the birthday of their “copito organized”, danced the Sardane in its cage and vainly tried to start the conversation with him. The Monkey, this Holy, continued to eat its Céleri and its Carotte S, completely indifferent to the spectacle of the mongoliens. One made move Salvador Dali to sensitize the animal with Article Dali in person offered a Inflatable doll to him equipped as a bride. The gorilla then threw such a scornful look to him that I know sure source that the Surréalisme will never pass to the posterity.
“Snowflake” burst with small fire of a typically human disease: a Cancer of the skin. It carried the Stigmates of the man to very the body, of the purulent wounds where the flies were posed during the day. These last years, the white monster even refused to show its face with the human rats bound in front of its cage of glass. Those which saw it, like me, in truth, to be held right and motionless during hours, the arms crosseds, openly turning the back on the crowd know what is true the Dignité.

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