Thirty years ago, the touching scene of a gorilla protecting an unconscious five-year-old boy who'd fallen into his cage was beamed into living rooms across the world.

The giant male Jambo standing guard over the limp body of Levan Merritt, as a hungry pack of apes circled the body, became an enduring image.

Now, 30 years on from that 1986 moment, Levan has opened up to the Daily Mail about his memories of that fateful day at the Jersey Zoo, on the island of Jersey, and how it changed his life.

"I am forever thankful to Jambo as obviously it could have gone one or two ways. It was amazing how he protected me in that way," Merritt told the Daily Mail, while explaining how the incident impacted afterwards.

That included keeping a lifelong involvement with the zoo, returning 10 times over the years and cutting a ribbon for a statue of Jambo after his death.

"I was pleased to be involved when the statue was put up of him in the zoo," he said.

Levan's mother Pauline recalled the incident, telling the Daily Mail: "'When Levan slipped into the pen, I started shouting and screaming and I was led away to the zoo cafe, while (husband) Stephen stayed put.

"It was only the next day we saw what had happened. One of the nurses had seen it on breakfast TV and asked us 'have you seen this?' Knowing that we were the family who had been involved.

"That was the first time I saw it and to be honest I couldn't actually believe what I was seeing."

Levan had fallen after he climbed onto the wall of the gorilla pit for a better view, then tumbled 20 feet in, breaking his arm and fracturing his skull.

As onlookers watched on, Jambo, a giant seven foot silverback, approached the boy, then stroked his hair.