[1] After his mother was shot and killed by soldiers, John Daniel was brought over to England and ended up living with Major Rupert Penny.
Unable to look after him full-time however, Penny then passed John Daniel over to his aunt, Alyce Cunningham, who lived in the village of Uley in Gloucestershire.
[2] John Daniel learned to use a toilet, make his bed, and drink tea and cider from cups.
He also occasionally resided on Sloane Street in London when Cunningham traveled to her home there and would attend dinner parties.
When he became too large to manage at 210 lb (95 kg),[2] Alyce Cunningham sold him in 1921 for £1,100 to an American person who misled her to believe the gorilla would be retired to Florida.