Massa lived to be 54 years old, and until 2008 was the longest lived gorilla

Gorilla

Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...

 ever recorded.

Massa was born in the wild in Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. He was shipped to America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 at an early age and his first owner was Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 eccentric Gertrude Lintz

Gertrude Lintz

Gertrude Davies Lintz was an eccentric animal lover from Brooklyn, New York.She kept several animals in her Brooklyn home, including several St. Bernards and the famous gorillas Gargantua and Massa. She was known to drive around Brooklyn with a fully clothed gorilla or chimpanzee sitting in the...

. In 1935, after accidentally spilling water on Massa, which startled him severely, Mrs. Lintz decided to sell him to Philadelphia Zoo

Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874...

.

In his prime, Massa weighed 400 lbs.

Massa lived at the zoo until his death from a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 on 30 December 1984, following a special birthday party held by the zoo, complete with a special cake and a live dixieland

Dixieland

Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...

 band. He was buried within the grounds of the zoo.

The film Buddy was based on the life of Massa (with some elements from the life of another of Mrs. Lintz's gorillas, Gargantua

Gargantua (gorilla)

Gargantua was a captive lowland gorilla who was famous in his lifetime and has been credited with saving the Ringling Brothers circus from bankruptcy. An acid scar on his face gave Gargantua a snarling, menacing expression, and the circus management attracted attention to him by emphasizing, in...

, who was known at the time as Buddy).