Jenny (gorilla)
Encyclopedia
Jenny was a Western lowland gorilla
Western Lowland Gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla that lives in montane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is the gorilla usually found in zoos...

 who resided at the Dallas Zoo
Dallas Zoo
Dallas Zoo is a zoo located south of downtown Dallas, Texas in Marsalis Park. Established in 1888, it is the oldest and largest zoological park in Texas and is managed by the non-profit Dallas Zoological Society. The zoo is home to 1,800 animals representing 406 species...

 in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

. Jenny was the world's oldest gorilla in captivity
Captivity (animal)
Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...

 at the time of her death in 2008 at the age of 55. Jenny was confirmed to be the oldest living gorilla in the world by the International Species Information System
International Species Information System
-External links:*...

 earlier in 2008.

Jenny was born in the wild, so her exact date of birth is unknown. She was acquired by the Dallas Zoo in 1957, where she lived for the rest of her life. Jenny gave birth to a daughter, Vicki, in 1965, but failed to conceive again. As a result, Jenny became part of an American study on the effects of menopause
Menopause
Menopause is a term used to describe the permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries: the ripening and release of ova and the release of hormones that cause both the creation of the uterine lining and the subsequent shedding of the uterine lining...

 on gorillas. Jenny's daughter, Vicki, was transferred to a zoo in Alberta, Canada
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 when she was five years old.

The Dallas Zoo celebrated Jenny's 55th birthday in May 2008 with a celebration and frozen fruit birthday cake
Birthday cake
The birthday cake has been an integral part of the birthday celebrations in Western cultures since the middle of the 19th century. Certain rituals and traditions, such as singing of birthday songs, associated with birthday cakes are common to many Western cultures. The Western tradition of adding...

.

She remained in relatively good health throughout her life, weighing 218 pounds (99 kilograms). However, Jenny was diagnosed with an inoperable stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

 tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

 during the last few weeks of her life. She had stopped eating and drinking. Jenny was euthanized as a "quality-of-life decision" at the Dallas Zoo on September 4, 2008, at the age of 55.

Colo
Colo (gorilla)
Colo is a Western Gorilla famous for being the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world. She is also the oldest gorilla in captivity in the world. She was born at the Columbus Zoo to Millie Christina and Baron Macombo . She was briefly called Cuddles before a contest was held...

, a 54-year-old gorilla who is kept at the Columbus Zoo
Columbus Zoo
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located in Powell, Ohio , just north of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Scioto River, at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Powell Road...

 and is the first gorilla ever born in captivity, succeeded Jenny as the world's oldest known gorilla. A gorilla's normal life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

in the wild is usually 30 to 35 years.
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