Koga, the Buffalo Zoo’s male silverback western lowland gorilla, who briefly escaped from his enclosure in 2012 and injured a zookeeper, died Wednesday of cardiac arrest, Zoo officials announced Thursday.
The animal had lived at the zoo since 2007.
“Our staff always feel the loss of any animal that dies, but it is especially hard when it is a charismatic, intelligent, well-loved animal like Koga who was a staple of our zoo community,” Lisa Smith, the zoo’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
Koga was born Aug. 14, 1987, at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, where he spent the first seven years of his life before moving to the Memphis Zoo, where he spent the next 13 years. He was brought to the Buffalo Zoo in April of 2007, according to zoo officials.
Koga fathered three offspring during his 17 years in captivity at the Buffalo Zoo.
In 2012, Koga briefly escaped when a door was left unsecured. Apparently shocked that he was in unfamiliar territory, Koga lashed out at a zookeeper he knew well, leaving her with superficial bite wounds on her right hand and left calf.
“He was probably as surprised to come face to face with her as she was,” then-zoo President Donna M. Fernandes said at the time. “I think he was more excited than hostile.”
The zookeeper was treated at the scene. The zoo’s animal-escape team used a blow pipe to immobilize Koga with a tranquilizer dart and eventually returned him to his enclosure.
The public never was in danger during the incident. The gorilla escaped through one barrier in a double-locked area but still remained in a locked section and had no access to public areas.
While Koga’s death was unexpected, he had been under veterinary care for heart disease for many years, officials said.
The median life expectancy for male gorillas is 32.7 years. Zoo officials said his longevity is a testament to the care he received at the zoo.
The zoo asked the community to please share photos and memories of Koga on…
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