Born in the wild around 1965, the silverback was the longest-living mammal at Taipei Zoo and believed to be Asia’s oldest gorilla in captivity.
“Happy arrived in Taiwan from Denmark in 1986 and was gifted to the zoo five years later,” Tsao said. “He was a gentle creature and showed his young roommate Bao Bao great kindness in their 18 years together.”
According to Tsao, Happy began receiving palliative care June 12 after suffering chronic renal failure. But he failed to respond to treatment and lapsed into a coma four days later.
“It was an emotional time for everyone at the zoo when Happy departed this world,” Tsao said, adding that his remains will be preserved using taxidermy.
Happy’s death leaves Bao Bao the sole western lowland gorilla at the Zoo. As the species is on the brink of extinction, the facility joined the European Endangered Species Programme earlier this year to find a mate for the 29-year-old silverback. (YHC-JSM)
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