"Our hearts are broken" - Gorilla Ozzie is dead
Created: 01/26/2022, 08:52
Ozzie is dead: Zoo mourns the loss of the world's oldest great ape.
© Twitter Screenshot ZooATL
"A legend" - the world's oldest male gorilla is dead. US zoo in Atlanta mourns Ozzie.
Atlanta - Ozzie was found lifeless by his carers on Tuesday (January 25).
"Our hearts are broken because a legend has passed away," the zoo tweeted.
Gorilla Ozzie died at the age of 61.
Cause of death initially unclear – US zoo mourns the loss of gorilla Ozzie
Ozzie's cause of death is still unclear.
The gorilla had had no appetite in the past few days.
Keepers and veterinarians tended to the great ape, encouraging it to eat and drink, the Atlanta Zoo said.
In the last 24 hours, the caregivers also observed facial swelling.
An investigation should now clarify the actual cause of death, said the zoo.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered.
Ozzie was born on April 24, 1961 in the wild in Africa.
For Zoo Atlanta, the great ape was an icon, being the third oldest gorilla in the world.
In the wild, gorillas usually only live around 40 years, in zoos sometimes 50 years.
The oldest female gorilla in the world lives in the Berlin Zoo: Fatou turned 64 in April.
Ozzie already tested positive for Corona
Last year, a group of gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, including Ozzie, tested positive for Covid-19.
Officially, it was said that he only showed mild symptoms during his infection, as reported by
USA Today
.
In 2009, Ozzie made zoo history when he became the world's first gorilla to take a blood pressure test.
Zoo director Raymond King described Ozzie's death as a devastating loss. "While we knew this moment would come one day, that inevitability doesn't change the deep sadness we feel at the loss of a legend." Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered due to poaching and habitat loss. Over a 25-year period, their numbers have declined by 60 percent, according to the zoo, and by as much as 90 percent in some parts of their West African range.
Ozzie leaves behind children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.
“Ozzie is survived by daughter Kuchi;
sons Kekla, Stadi and Charlie;
granddaughter Lulu;
great-granddaughter Andi and great-grandson Floyd, all of whom reside at Zoo Atlanta.” His legacy also included children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren residing at other accredited zoos in the United States and Canada.
(dpa/ml)
In a devastating fire in the monkey house in Krefeld on New Year's Eve, 50 animals fell victim to the flames.
The police then had to shoot a gorilla in the monkey house.
