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Another year, another epic birthday for Colo, the oldest known gorilla on Earth.
Colo, the world's oldest gorilla, is a great-great-grandma at the Columbus Zoo.
12.22.15
Today, Colo — the oldest living gorilla in captivity — turns 59 years old!
In Ohio, where Colo lives at the Columbus Zoo, they're celebrating in style.
<p class="image-caption">A photo from this party animal's 58th birthday last year. Photo courtesy of Grahm S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; used with permission.</p><p>"It's not yet the big 6-0," Audra Meinelt, an assistant curator at the zoo, said in a press release provided to Upworthy. "But it's the big 5-9."</p><p><strong>59 years old may not seem that outrageous. But for gorillas? It's a big deal.</strong></p><p>Seeing as the average female gorilla lives <a href="http://www.wowktv.com/story/30809220/oldest-of-zoo-gorillas-turns-59-at-ohio-facility" target="_blank">about 37 years</a>, Colo's matriarchal status as the "<a href="https://columbuszoo.org/colo/" target="_blank">queen of the Columbus Zoo</a>" is seriously deserved.</p><h2 style="font-family: 'Avenir Next', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Colo isn't new to this whole "making headlines" thing, either. She's been a celebrity in her own right for decades.</h2><p>Long before Colo first began setting records for her old age in 2012, <strong>Colo made news for being the <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-gorilla-born-in-captivity" target="_blank">very first gorilla</a> to be born in human care. </strong>That was way back in 1956.</p><p>Check out the video evidence below.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ4MzA1Ni9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjI1NjQzNn0.ITzwhJZ8qrRiYBOKRv_jakV9Xh_oNBir_UJRg1Wigxk/img.gif?width=980" id="f855d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ca009923ae81e5fb6be6c36cc488e998" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ4MzA1Ny9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NDgwMDczMX0.VfhkzZolQetCET3Tp3sDPxxYpbCRH27X2Ph0bpH5BOE/img.gif?width=980" id="03cb0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00fd2e4d88d91703da41a34b404ed2bb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ4MzA1OC9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMDU0MTk5NH0.LEu1JqEQPjOb5LlYWwsAO2TtX6W7xGQmqG-pwPykYAk/img.gif?width=980" id="2a301" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="17564d343d14e943e5b51d692a7cf2ad" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p class="image-caption">All GIFs via the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-j7Gz4apDk" target="_blank">ColumbusZooMedia/YouTube</a>.</p><p>Seeing as she was the first gorilla to be born in a zoo, mistakes were made while raising her. They'd separated her from her mother out of fear that her mother would harm her, for example.</p><p><strong>"Everyone was terrified to give her back to her mom,"</strong> veterinarian Dr. Richard Vesper told <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/12/22/at-58-colos-a-simian-star.html" target="_blank">The Columbus Dispatch</a>. "Their fears overwhelmed their scientific rationale, and they wouldn’t take the risk. They made decisions at the gut level.”<span class="redactor-invisible-space"></span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space">But much was learned about the species and its protection because of Colo and her long, <em>long</em> bloodline. She's</span> the great-grandmother of Timu, the first surviving baby gorilla conceived through artificial insemination.</p><p>And, by the way, since Timu gave birth to her first little one in 2003, <strong>Colo is a great-<em>great</em></strong><strong>-grandmother.</strong></p><h2>Clearly, Colo's big day is a big deal. So the zoo celebrated with cake, special surprises, and lots of colorful construction paper chains.</h2><p>And the whole world was invited.</p><p><span></span></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ4MzA2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTc2NTMxOX0.qEeJ5EwkmFO2xhJg6Y-vIdKmi5vs3R6AnsPLh1te_dw/img.jpg?width=980" id="6c620" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e3e6597c18e3ec8878cdd031556299d6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p class="image-caption">Photo, taken at Colo's 58th birthday party, courtesy of Grahm S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; used with permission.</p><p>Partygoers dropped in between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2015, to celebrate with Colo, who snacked on treats of clementines and tomatoes and opened presents. Rumor has it there were also some specially made cupcakes for her and her gorilla friends.</p><p><strong>Even cooler, those of us who couldn't be in Columbus got to watch the party <a href="https://columbuszoo.org/colo/" target="_blank">online</a>. </strong>(Last year, 4,000 people from 31 countries did just that to ring in Colo's 58th year.)</p><h2>As far as her health? Colo's in great shape. </h2><p>There's no reason to think there won't be a 60th birthday coming next holiday season.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ4MzA2MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjg2NTk2MH0.l_8ycNDZbkzB1x-gFTwlpBXPGphNZVt-089bl4vf6JI/img.jpg?width=980" id="cad36" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b09e0986e386e7e999c36753975f3f25" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p class="image-caption">Photo taken at Colo's 58th birthday party, courtesy of Grahm S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; used with permission.</p><p>“She is amazing because she is the oldest gorilla in a zoo and doesn’t have significant health problems,” Meinelt said. “Her biggest ailment is arthritis. She hasn’t had any noticeable health changes in the last year. Her health has been fantastic.”</p><p>Cheers to another year well-lived, Queen.</p><p><strong>Check out this incredible video that was produced by the Columbus Zoo in recognition of Colo's 57th birthday a couple years ago:</strong></p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a12588336726622524344564da04d216"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G-j7Gz4apDk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
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