Zoo Hopes Gorilla Will Get Down to Monkey Business

He made a monkey out of sportswriters, but it’s back to the jungle for a 4-year-old gorilla that zoo officials are hoping will learn to ape his forebears. Officials at the Dallas Zoo are concerned that Kanda, who was raised by humans after his mother died, doesn’t have the social skills to get along with other gorillas. So the human-like ape has been packed off to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo., for some monkeyshines that will include living with four other primates. Three years ago, Kanda turned the sports world on its ear when he beat experienced sportswriters in a contest to pick National Football League winners, compiling a 33-22-1 record over four weeks. But zoo officials said they are less interested in what Kanda can do with betting lines and more in what Kanda can do to improve breeding lines at the zoo. “We want him to behave like a gorilla,” said Joe Christman, mammal zoologist for the zoo.

--Most children his age can’t even read, but 4-year-old spelling meister Rohan Varavadekar already has words like “abbreviate” and “Velcro” rolling off his tongue. Although that may spell a beeline to stardom for some, officials at Washington’s Village School have been reluctant to let Rohan go up against the big boys. The diminutive pre-kindergarten student has been allowed to compete in school spelling bees--which he has won--but was barred from participating in the final for the school title, which would have made him eligible for citywide competition. “They (officials at the private school) told us we couldn’t go to the final because he is too young for it,” said Rohan’s mother, Kranti Varavadekar.

--A college janitor may be hoping for divine intervention in a matter that has been costing him $30 a week in docked pay. According to a union contract, Gerard W. Southland is supposed to take his lunch break from work at the University of Rhode Island at noon, but he has been taking his break at 11:30 so he can attend Mass at the South Kingston campus chapel. In addition to the docked wages, the 43-year-old janitor faces a possible two-week suspension without pay for continuing to attend the Roman Catholic service.

--A batch of humorous excuses written by parents for students absent from class was mistakenly attributed to parents in Vernon Parish, La. Schools Supt. John Burns had handed out the notes at a monthly board meeting but said later: “I have no idea where the things came from. A friend of mine just handed them to me. They were something to laugh at.”