Harry the Gorilla (1991-2025)
Obituary
Harry died in March after spending all 33 years of his life in captivity.
Harry, a 33-year-old western lowland gorilla, died from a cardiac event at the Pittsburgh Zoo. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1991 and transferred to Pittsburgh a year later. He lived with five other gorillas as the oldest male. He became the troop leader after another gorilla, Mrithi, died while anesthetized in 2024. The Pittsburgh Zoo has come under fire for a spate of deaths, including a baby elephant and a seal. A third gorilla, Ivan, died in October 2024 at the young age of 11.
There are four subspecies of gorillas: Western lowland gorillas, Cross River gorillas, Grauer’s gorillas, and mountain gorillas. Western lowland gorillas are the smallest and weigh between 150 and 400 pounds. They live in dense tropical rainforests across central and West Africa.
Though multiple gorillas are held at the Pittsburgh Zoo, it is impossible to replicate the social bonds they experience in the wild. Western lowland gorillas live in groups called troops, consisting of as many as 30 gorillas. Each troop is comprised of one dominant adult male, several young males, multiple females, and their children. Some male gorillas also live alone as bachelors. Recent research has found that gorillas’ social structure may be more complex than scientists believed and that gorillas form lifelong bonds with extended family members.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered due to habitat destruction, disease, and poaching. Their fragile habitat is destroyed for industrial agriculture and increasingly degraded by climate change. Keeping gorillas in zoos does nothing to ensure their long-term survival. No gorillas born in US zoos will ever be released into the wild. The only way to protect gorillas is to protect their habitat.
World Animal Protection urges everyone who loves gorillas to avoid zoos and enjoy them in the wild or at sanctuaries.
