Anna, the maternal primate who has "watched over" pedestrians in Suttons Bay for the past eight years, is moving south.

EDWARD’S Home Furnishing owner Beverly
Newcomb is saying good-bye to the gorilla
statue that has been overlooking shoppers
in Suttons Bay for eight years.

Ed Newcomb, who with his wife, Beverly, owns Edward’s Home Furnishings, purchased the life size bronze cast of a mother gorilla as a gift for his wife in 1999. Anna has sat at the window of the store since with her baby watching the goings-on on St. Joseph Street.

Now, she’ll have a new home at the Columbus Zoo.

Longtime Leelanau visitor Gary Carnes of Columbus purchased Anna, and is donating the statue in his late wife’s name to the zoo.

The Columbus Zoo is the site of the first gorillas to be born in captivity.

“A gentleman came in and asked if the gorilla was for sale,” explained Beverly, who was captivated by the primate at a furniture show. “I told him, ‘No, she’s mine.’”

Beverly, a mother and grandmother, said she was drawn to the bronze cast piece by the gorilla’s face.

“The emotion is there, on her face. She’s a determined mother,” Beverly said.
Carnes, undeterred, stopped by the store again.

“He wore me down,” Newcomb said. “The man told me that he wanted to buy Anna and donate it to the zoo in memory of his wife, who had passed away. That did it. I couldn’t sleep after he said this. I had to let her go.”

Carnes and his wife, Victoria, were longtime visitors to Leelanau when she died eight years ago at age 56. The couple shared a love of the peninsula and a love of the zoo.

“We donated to the zoo every year,” Carnes said. “It’s one of the few charities that money goes entirely to the zoo — it’s owned by the City of Columbus.

“It’s a beautiful statue and it will be wonderful … a really good fit,” Carnes said.

The Columbus Zoo is famous as having the first gorilla born in captivity. “Colo”, born Dec. 22, 1956, just celebrated her 50th birthday. In 1983, 12 years ago giving birth to her third offspring, Colo and her mate Bongo were separated after having lost interest in breeding. Despite this, Colo had another important role to play in the zoological society. In 1985, Colo showed mothering behavior to her granddaughter, a 6-year-old gorilla named Cora. In 1987 she officially became a surrogate when she raised Macombo II and Mosuba, the first gorilla twins born in the western hemisphere.

“The zoo is well known for its gorilla surrogacy program,” said Linda Shinafelt, executive assistant to zoo director Gerald W. Borin. “Sometimes when gorillas give birth in captivity, they don’t do a good job raising their babies. When this happens, other zoos send the babies here and we teach them how to be gorillas.”

Staff members work with the animals 24 hours, 7-day a week.

“They are in a nursery and are allowed to climb on (staff members) backs,” Shinafelt said. “Eventually, (the young) are presented to a female gorilla for mothering. It’s a successful program that others have tried to emulate.”

Like Colo, Anna has watched over the community, attracting the curious and entertaining Newcomb’s grandchildren at the store. The Newcombs encourage those interested in the gorilla to stop and say “goodbye” to Anna before she’s shipped out later this month.

Anna won’t be displayed at the zoo until spring, due to ongoing construction at the park, including renovations to the education building where the statue will be displayed.

The maternal instinct captured by the artist in the gorilla’s face will be shared with many more people to come.

“She does have a sweet face,” Shinafelt said.