First gorilla born in zoo dies in sleep in U.S. state Ohio at 60

Colo, the first gorilla in the world to be born in a zoo, died in her sleep overnight, less than one month after her 60-year-old birthday, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in U.S. state of Ohio said Tuesday.

Colo, born on Dec. 22, 1956, was a mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-grandmother of 12 and great-great-grandmother of three.

She had surgery on Dec. 3 to remove a malignant tumor, said a report from the local newspaper Columbus Dispatch. It's not yet known if cancer contributed to her death.

"She was the coolest animal I've ever worked with and caring for her was the highlight of my career," said Colo's curator Audra Meinelt in the statement from the zoo.

"It was not just about what she meant to the gorilla community but for whom she was as a gorilla. I'm heartbroken but also grateful for the 19 years I had with Colo."

Following an autopsy, Colo will be cremated and her ashes will be be buried at an undisclosed location at the zoo, said the statement.

How Colo happened to be born at what was then the tiny, little-known Columbus Zoo is a tale worthy of a movie script, according to the Columbus Dispatch report.

As author Jeff Lyttle explains in his book, Gorillas in Our Midst, the zoo's male and female gorillas, Millie and Mac, were kept in separate cages at all times in order to avoid they hurt each other.

However, part-time keeper Warren Thomas noticed what he thought was mating behavior by the two and decided to secretly put them together at night.

Within weeks he was sure Millie was pregnant. But keepers didn't know what a gorilla's gestation period was and pegged the due date as early January - nine months after conception.

Then, on Dec. 22, 1956, Thomas found the tiny baby gorilla on the floor of Millie's cage, still in its amniotic sac. He distracted Millie, grabbed the baby, broke the sac and gave it massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until it started to breathe.

At the time, zoos across the United States were trying to mate their gorillas, but none had even gotten pregnant. Colo's birth surprised the whole America. National magazines like Time and Life and television shows like Today came to call on the gorilla miracle. In 1957, more than 1 million people visited her.

Raised in a nursery by humans, Colo has never left the Columbus Zoo. She exceeded her life expectancy by more than 20 years.

"Colo touched the hearts of generations of people," said Tom Stalf, zoo president and CEO.

"She was an ambassador for gorillas and inspired people to learn more about the critically endangered species and motivated them to protect gorillas in their native habitat." he said. Endit