On 18 July 1997, police surprised Isaac Mofokeng while committing a crime in
Saxonwold next to the zoo. Trying to evade police, Mofokeng entered the zoo grounds and the enclosure where Max and his mate Lisa were held. During the confrontation between Max and Mofokeng, Mofokeng was seriously injured and Max was shot twice with a .38 revolver, one shot in the chest and the other in the neck. Mofokeng was eventually shot and wounded by the pursuing police. After zoo veterinarians failed to locate and extract the bullets at the zoo hospital, Max was sent for
X-rays and surgery to nearby
Milpark Hospital. Mofokeng was later convicted of rape, robbery and wounding a gorilla. He received a 40-year sentence, but died in early November 2005 while a patient at the
Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital. ==See also==