The following is a news release from Zoo Miami:
It is with very heavy hearts that we announce the loss of our matriarch gorilla, “Josephine.”
Born in the wild in March 1967, Josephine arrived at Zoo Miami (then Miami Metrozoo) in March 1983 and gave birth to the first gorilla born here in 1984. In 2009, after being practically blind due to severe cataracts, Josephine received cataract surgery and had two artificial human lenses implanted into her eyes that successfully restored her sight. This historic surgery greatly improved Josephine’s quality of life for several years and was celebrated in the media, as well as within the zoological community.
More recently, the nearly 50 year old great ape had been suffering from several health issues that slowly incapacitated her and could not be treated with positive results due to her advanced age. A variety of exams and tests performed over the last several days showed several abnormalities that indicated systemic terminal conditions that had no chance for positive outcomes or hope for recovery.
This morning, when Josephine could hardly move, even to reach for her favorite treat, the staff knew the right thing to do. They made the very difficult decision to humanely euthanize her. That procedure was successfully performed this afternoon.
The loss of Josephine comes on the heels of the loss earlier this month of “Binti,” a 34-year-old female chimpanzee that succumbed to a blood clot. She was the first chimpanzee born at Zoo Miami and her mother, Rosebud, is still alive and now resides at the St. Louis Zoo.
