Visitors at the Detroit Zoo witnessed an extraordinary act of bravery when truck driver Rick Swope jumped into a chimp enclosure to save a drowning primate. While most people would hesitate before crossing safety barriers, Swope didn’t think twice when he saw Jo-Jo, a gentle chimpanzee, struggling in the deep moat after being pushed during a fight.
As bystanders watched in shock, Swope plunged into the murky water. “It was heartbreaking,” he recalled. “The chimp had his hands up, looking right at us like he was begging for help.” Despite zoo staff shouting warnings, Swope refused to leave without rescuing Jo-Jo, feeling along the bottom until he located the panicked animal.
The emotional moment came when Swope locked eyes with Jo-Jo during the rescue. “It was like looking into the eyes of a person,” he said. “You could see he understood what was happening.” Wildlife expert Jane Goodall later explained Jo-Jo’s tragic backstory – orphaned by poachers before being adopted by the zoo – making Swope’s heroic act even more poignant.
