COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) An Ohio zoo says the country’s oldest known gorilla, and the first in the world to be born in a zoo, has died. Colo was 60.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Tuesday that Colo died in her sleep, less than a month after her birthday.
She surpassed the usual life expectancy of captive gorillas by two decades.
Zoo president Tom Stalf says Colo inspired people to learn about her species and to help protect gorillas in their native habitat.
Colo was born at the zoo on Dec. 22, 1956. She eventually became a mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-grandmother of 12 and great-great-grandmother of three.
Zoo officials had recently removed a malignant tumor from her but had said she was doing well.