Josephine (1971-2020)

Josephine in her enclosure

Josephine (1971 - 6th December 2020) was a western lowland gorilla who resided at Toronto Zoo from 1971 to her death in 2020. She was born in the wild in Gabon during 1971. She was captured and taken to Toronto Zoo, where she resided until her death. At the time of her death, she was the oldest gorilla residing at Toronto Zoo and likely one of the oldest gorillas living in Canada and North America. She had five named children, Tabitha (1980-2007) [failed to recover from seizures], Minkebe (1988-1989) [Cervical spinal trauma], Jabari (1990-2004) [Murdered by Dallas Police], Jomo (1991-) and Johari (2001-). Until her death, Josephine lived with fellow geriatric gorilla Charles, who was born in 1972.
Josephine was described by those who had interacted with her as “quite the protective gorilla”. She often sat near the glass of her enclosure. Josephine had a portion of silver hair along her head and back, therefore she is often mistaken for a silverback gorilla. She was one of the most subordinate gorillas at Toronto Zoo; however she was considered the most intelligent. She enjoyed interacting with the visitors and her keepers. Although Josephine was described as an “excellent mother”, she had not been able to produce enough milk to raise her offspring. Because of this, her keepers have had to hand raise her offspring until they are able to reintroduce them back to her at six months of age.

Josephine died on the 6th December 2020, at the age of 49. Toronto Zoo officials said that she had been behaving abnormally for the week before her death and that “it was obvious that she was struggling to get around with her neck and shoulders appearing very tense in a very stiff position.” Following these initial observations of ill health, Josephine and her daughter Johari (2001-) were isolated from the rest of the troop and the zoo’s veterinarians assessed her condition, whilst also attempting to ease her pain and increase her level of comfort. After several days of observation and treatment by the zoo’s veterinarians, Josephine’s condition still showed no improvement, which caused the zoo to consult external veterinary experts to help ease Josephine’s pain and uncover the source of her condition. Josephine was tested and her condition was thoroughly assessed. She was not found to have any treatable condition, so it was concluded that her prognosis was poor and she was humanly euthanised as the Toronto Zoo officials believed that to be the best way to relive her of her suffering.

After Josephine’s death, the Toronto Zoo released a statement saying “This loss is felt deeply in our extensive zoo family which includes our volunteers, members, and guests, and we are grateful for the expertise and compassion shown to her and her whole troop during this difficult time”. They also said that the remaining members of the gorilla troop had been given the chance to see Josephine’s body and and mourn for her. The zoo also asked patrons to donate their obsolete mobile phones to their PhoneApes Program, intended to recycle metals found in mobile phones so prevent unnecessary mining of the Congo Rainforest, which gorillas inhabit. Patrons can also donate to the Toronto Zoo’s gorilla troop in Josephine’s memory by directing to the “Gorilla Fund – Josephine Tribute Gift.”