Worlds Oldest Living Male Gorilla Celebrates 60th Birthday At Zoo Atlanta
The world’s oldest gorilla celebrated his 60th birthday at Zoo Atlanta with a three-level iced dessert that he immediately started devouring.
Ozzie, the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), celebrated his major milestone at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia, in the United States on 20th of June.
The birthday boy, who is one of the most treasured members of the Zoo Atlanta population obtained the record of the world’s oldest living male gorilla and the oldest male gorilla on record.
The zoo explained that the average life expectancy for a male gorilla is about 37 years old in its natural habitat. In zoological settings, they can live well up to their 50s.
The zoo also added that after 40, gorillas are considered geriatric so Ozzie shares his habitat with females Choomba, 58, Machi, 45, and Kuchi, 36, in areas specifically configured for the needs of senior gorillas.
According to the Zoo Atlanta: “Ozzie has made lasting contributions to the future of his species in his years at Zoo Atlanta. Ozzie has more than 20 descendants, including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, living at Zoo Atlanta and at other Associations of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) accredited zoos.”
Zoo Atlanta also shared a video of the birthday celebration where Ozzie was presented with a multi-tiered ice dessert filled with frozen fruits, fruit juice and topped with the number 60. After grabbing the first bite of the dessert the gorilla patriarch knocked the dessert down and nonchalantly continued to enjoy it.
The western lowland gorilla represents one of two subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) that lives in lowland swampland and in montane, primary and secondary forest in central Africa in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Due to the combined threats of poaching, illegal hunting for the bushmeat trade, habitat loss and disease these primates are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.