World’s Oldest Known Gorilla Turns 66 at Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo celebrated the 66th birthday of Fatou, the world’s oldest-known living gorilla, with a special dinner that included fruit, vegetables and a watermelon with her age carved into it.

Fatou, a Western lowland gorilla, enjoyed her birthday meal Thursday as zoo visitors snapped pictures. Her keeper, Ruben Gralki, said her species would live 45 to 50 years in nature. While zoo animals tend to live longer, he said that reaching an age beyond 60 years is a special feat.

The zoo said in a press release that Fatou’s exact age is not known. She came to the zoo in 1959, and her age was estimated to be two at the time. The zoo said before that, she was owned by a sailor who exploited her to pay his bar tab at a tavern in Marseille, France. 

Gralki told Reuters that Fatou is one of five gorillas at the Berlin Zoo, but she has a pen to herself due to her advanced age. He said she has the opportunity to visit with the other gorillas but usually keeps to herself.

The World Wildlife Federation says Western lowland gorillas, though among the most common species of gorilla, remain critically endangered, largely because of poaching. 

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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