Oldest Gorilla In North America Dies At Louisville Zoo At Age 64

LOUISVILLE, KY — The gorilla world has lost its “Grand Dame.”

Helen, at 64 the oldest-living gorilla in North America and the second-oldest in the world, died Friday after having been on “quality of life” watch for several months, the Louisville Zoo announced.

The western lowland gorilla had been in natural age decline for several months, the zoo said, calling the decision to euthanize Helen difficult but compassionate.

“Letting go of a special gorilla like Helen is very hard, but it is often the last, best thing we can do for our animals,” Louisville Zoo Director Dan Maloney said in a news release announcing the gorilla’s death.

The typical life expectancy of a female gorilla is around 39. Only Fatou, a 65-year-old western lowland gorilla at Zoo Berlin, has lived longer than Helen.

Both were wild-caught in West Africa, Helen in Cameroon. Because capturing a young individual involved killing an entire group, importing gorillas became illegal in 1976. At the time, 403 of the 498 gorillas in captivity had been born in the wild. By 1991, more zoo gorillas were already born in captivity than in the wild, according to published research.

Helen, who is believed to have been born in 1958, outlived Colo, whose birth on Dec. 22, 1956, was the first in captivity in a U.S. zoo. Colo was 60 when she died at Ohio’s Columbus Zoo, where she lived her entire life.

“Helen’s exceptional longevity is not only a testament to her personal constitution, but also to the outstanding care provided by her keeper team and the animal health care staff over these past 20 years,” Maloney said.

Maloney said the Grand Dame was a beloved ambassador for her species, native to West Africa’s Congo Basin, including the countries of Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Congo.

Among four subspecies of gorilla, western lowland gorillas, the smallest of the gentle giants. They are the most widely dispersed of any all the four subspecies, but all gorilla are critically endangered.

Gorillas were vastly misunderstood until research starting in the mid-20th century, included the work of acclaimed primatologist Dian Fossey, changed casual understanding of their demeanor from the aggressive beast portrayed in entertainment to gentle, human-like beings who are rarely aggressive unless threatened and lead calm, peaceful and emotionally rich lives.

One example:

The mother of three, a grandmother of 17, a great-grandmother of eight and a great-great-great grandmother of one, Helen was curiously interested in the people who came to visit her at the zoo’s Gorilla Forest exhibit, especially those pushing strollers or with young children in tow.

“Her fascination with human babies delighted families for decades,” Maloney said. “I know her friends and members will share in her loss and miss her greatly.”

Gorillas, which share 98 percent similar DNA, have been documented at least three times to have shown extreme tenderness and care toward human children, including the silverback Harmabe, who protected a 3-year-old boy who fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2017.

Helen moved to the Louisville Zoo from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in 2002. She enjoyed remarkably good health for most of her life, with only expected age-related arthritis and some periodontal disease

She had her own dentist, cardiologist, gynecologist, neurologist and orthopedist/pain manager and “taught us much about gorillas and geriatric gorilla care,” said Dr. Zoli Gyimesi, the Louisville Zoo’s senior veterinarian.

“Helen was a legend and deserved the best,” she said.

Helen recently began developing increasing instability and tremors, putting her at risk of falling and endangering her welfare, the zoo said.

The eight gorillas remaining at the Louisville Zoo include Helen’s great-grandchild Bengati and great-great-grandchild Kindi.

The Grand Dam title was bestowed on Helen due to her advanced age and the vast size of her extended family of 29 individuals. Reproduction at Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos is coordinated through the Species Survival Plan, whose goal is to maintain genetically diverse, demographically stable captive populations of gorillas.

Kristen Lukas, who chairs the AZA’s gorilla SSP, said Helen’s longevity was an inspiration.

“She touched the lives of many people over the years, including those who cared for her and those who just spent time visiting her at the zoo,” Lukas said. “She was an independent spirit as well as being an integral member of her gorilla family, and her legacy lives on.