Post by Maxx on Jan 26, 2022 19:23:02 GMT -6
OZZIE, WORLD’S OLDEST MALE GORILLA, HAS DIED
The Zoo Atlanta family is heartbroken to announce the passing of Ozzie, the world’s oldest male gorilla, at 61. The oldest gorilla at Zoo Atlanta and the third-oldest gorilla in the world, Ozzie was found deceased by his care team on January 25, 2022.
Ozzie’s cause of death is not yet known. He exhibited decreased appetite last Thursday, January 20, and the Animal Care and Veterinary Teams were providing him with supportive care to encourage him to eat and drink. Over the past 24 hours, the teams had been treating him when he presented symptoms including facial swelling, weakness, and inability to eat or drink. A necropsy, or the non-human equivalent of an autopsy, will be performed through the Zoo’s partnership with the University of Georgia Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service in the College of Veterinary Medicine and should provide the teams with more information on Ozzie’s condition. Zoo Atlanta will share these results once they are available.
“This is a devastating loss for Zoo Atlanta. While we knew this time would come someday, that inevitability does nothing to stem the deep sadness we feel at losing a legend,” said Raymond B. King, President and CEO. “Ozzie’s life’s contributions are indelible, in the generations of individuals he leaves behind in the gorilla population and in the world’s body of knowledge in the care of his species. Our thoughts are with his care team, who have lost a part of their lives and a part of their hearts.”
Ozzie was a true living legend in the fabric of Zoo Atlanta’s history and, like his peer the late Willie B., was an icon in his own time, symbolic of the dramatic rebirth of the Zoo in the 1980s. He was the only surviving member of the original generation of gorillas who arrived at Zoo Atlanta with the opening of The Ford African Rain Forest in 1988.
He made zoological history in 2009, when he became the first gorilla in the world ever to participate in a voluntary blood pressure reading. Remarkably, he was geriatric even at the time of that accomplishment, at age 48. Gorillas are considered geriatric after the age of about 40.
Ozzie is survived by daughter Kuchi; sons Kekla, Stadi, and Charlie; granddaughter Lulu; great-granddaughter Andi, and great-grandson Floyd, all of whom live at Zoo Atlanta. His legacy also includes children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living at other accredited zoos in the U.S. and Canada.
zooatlanta.org/ozzie-worlds-oldest-male-gorilla-has-died/#:~:text=The%20Zoo%20Atlanta%20family%20is,team%20on%20January%2025%2C%202022.
The Zoo Atlanta family is heartbroken to announce the passing of Ozzie, the world’s oldest male gorilla, at 61. The oldest gorilla at Zoo Atlanta and the third-oldest gorilla in the world, Ozzie was found deceased by his care team on January 25, 2022.
Ozzie’s cause of death is not yet known. He exhibited decreased appetite last Thursday, January 20, and the Animal Care and Veterinary Teams were providing him with supportive care to encourage him to eat and drink. Over the past 24 hours, the teams had been treating him when he presented symptoms including facial swelling, weakness, and inability to eat or drink. A necropsy, or the non-human equivalent of an autopsy, will be performed through the Zoo’s partnership with the University of Georgia Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service in the College of Veterinary Medicine and should provide the teams with more information on Ozzie’s condition. Zoo Atlanta will share these results once they are available.
“This is a devastating loss for Zoo Atlanta. While we knew this time would come someday, that inevitability does nothing to stem the deep sadness we feel at losing a legend,” said Raymond B. King, President and CEO. “Ozzie’s life’s contributions are indelible, in the generations of individuals he leaves behind in the gorilla population and in the world’s body of knowledge in the care of his species. Our thoughts are with his care team, who have lost a part of their lives and a part of their hearts.”
Ozzie was a true living legend in the fabric of Zoo Atlanta’s history and, like his peer the late Willie B., was an icon in his own time, symbolic of the dramatic rebirth of the Zoo in the 1980s. He was the only surviving member of the original generation of gorillas who arrived at Zoo Atlanta with the opening of The Ford African Rain Forest in 1988.
He made zoological history in 2009, when he became the first gorilla in the world ever to participate in a voluntary blood pressure reading. Remarkably, he was geriatric even at the time of that accomplishment, at age 48. Gorillas are considered geriatric after the age of about 40.
Ozzie is survived by daughter Kuchi; sons Kekla, Stadi, and Charlie; granddaughter Lulu; great-granddaughter Andi, and great-grandson Floyd, all of whom live at Zoo Atlanta. His legacy also includes children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living at other accredited zoos in the U.S. and Canada.
zooatlanta.org/ozzie-worlds-oldest-male-gorilla-has-died/#:~:text=The%20Zoo%20Atlanta%20family%20is,team%20on%20January%2025%2C%202022.