Published: Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 5:20 p.m.
Ivan the gorilla inspired animal lovers on 2 coasts
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Associated Press
Ivan chews on his finger in his exhibit at Zoo Atlanta in 1996. The gorilla had lived at the zoo since 1994.
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A 50-year-old gorilla who became a beloved figure at Zoo Atlanta after spending several decades in a Tacoma department store has died, zoo officials said today.
Ivan, a male western lowland gorilla, never regained consciousness after he was put under general anesthesia Monday for a diagnostic assessment, Zoo Atlanta said. The zoo says the geriatric ape had recently lost weight, seemed to lack appetite and had a respiratory illness.
He had lived at Zoo Atlanta since 1994. He was born in the wild around 1962 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wildlife traders sold him to the owners of a department store in Tacoma in 1964.
He lived there, in a concrete enclosure inside the B&I Shopping Center, for 27 years until a national movement prompted store owners to release Ivan to the Woodland Park Zoo.
PAWS, a Lynnwood-based animal advocacy organization, helped lead the efforts to move the gorilla.
Lisa Wathne of Lake Forest Park spent most of her seven years at PAWS trying to get Ivan out of the store. She now advocates for the release of captive exotic animals for the Humane Society of the United States.
She described Ivan's in-store enclosure as a dark and barren, "a truly miserable existence."
"It was suitable by no means, not only the physical environment, but the fact that he was alone," Wathne said. "That was probably the cruelest part about it."
Ivan was a fixture in the community, but when attitudes began to change about how should be treated, people came together to improve his situation, Wathne said.
"I remember seeing him as a child, I was maybe 8 or 9, and thinking he was just so lonely," said PAWS communications coordinator Mark Coleman of Edmonds.
Community members signed petitions and donated money for newspaper advertisements to rally support and convince owners to release Ivan. People came to the store front in large groups to protest the treatment of Ivan with signs and usually someone in a gorilla suit, Wathne said.
The movement gained momentum and National Geographic Explorer filmed a documentary about Ivan before he was released, titled "Urban Gorilla."
"Support started coming in from both coasts," Coleman said.
Facing pressure from zoological and animal rights communities, the store in 1994 donated Ivan to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. He was moved to Zoo Atlanta on permanent loan in October 1994.
Woodland Park Zoo didn't have enough room for Ivan and chose Zoo Atlanta because the staff already had experience with socializing a solitary gorilla.
"Any captive gorilla would dream of Zoo Atlanta. He hit a home run when he ended up there," Wathne said.
The community was overwhelmingly in favor of moving Ivan, she explained.
"Even people who had been looking at Ivan since they were children recognized that this was not a good situation for him. Many people were sorry to see him go, but they knew he deserved better," Wathne said.
Zoo Atlanta offered free admission to anyone from Washington state so that they could see their old friend, she added.
Wathne contacted her former co-workers on Tuesday morning after learning of his death.
"It's sad to know that he is gone but we're just so glad that he had lived to be 50; that he had 18 very, very good years at Zoo Atlanta," she said.
Ivan was compatible with a number of female gorillas who lived in the same habitat over the years and was seen mating at least once, but he never fathered any offspring. He formed close, lasting bonds with his keepers.
"This is a tremendous loss to the Zoo Atlanta family, and it is a loss that spans two coasts. It's because of the great love Ivan inspired in his years on the West Coast that the wheels were ultimately put in motion to have him join us here at Zoo Atlanta," said Raymond King, president and CEO.
Ivan was known to dislike cool or damp weather and was often seen using a burlap bag to protect his feet from dewy grass. He also seemed to enjoy painting and was known to "sign" his works with a thumbprint.
Gorillas are considered geriatric after the age of about 35. Ivan was one of four Zoo Atlanta gorillas who are 50 years old or older. The other seniors are females Shamba, 53, and Choomba, 50, along with Ozzie, 51, the oldest male gorilla living in captivity in the world.
Weekly Herald reporter Ashley Stewart contributed to this story.
Ivan, a male western lowland gorilla, never regained consciousness after he was put under general anesthesia Monday for a diagnostic assessment, Zoo Atlanta said. The zoo says the geriatric ape had recently lost weight, seemed to lack appetite and had a respiratory illness.
He had lived at Zoo Atlanta since 1994. He was born in the wild around 1962 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wildlife traders sold him to the owners of a department store in Tacoma in 1964.
He lived there, in a concrete enclosure inside the B&I Shopping Center, for 27 years until a national movement prompted store owners to release Ivan to the Woodland Park Zoo.
PAWS, a Lynnwood-based animal advocacy organization, helped lead the efforts to move the gorilla.
Lisa Wathne of Lake Forest Park spent most of her seven years at PAWS trying to get Ivan out of the store. She now advocates for the release of captive exotic animals for the Humane Society of the United States.
She described Ivan's in-store enclosure as a dark and barren, "a truly miserable existence."
"It was suitable by no means, not only the physical environment, but the fact that he was alone," Wathne said. "That was probably the cruelest part about it."
Ivan was a fixture in the community, but when attitudes began to change about how should be treated, people came together to improve his situation, Wathne said.
"I remember seeing him as a child, I was maybe 8 or 9, and thinking he was just so lonely," said PAWS communications coordinator Mark Coleman of Edmonds.
Community members signed petitions and donated money for newspaper advertisements to rally support and convince owners to release Ivan. People came to the store front in large groups to protest the treatment of Ivan with signs and usually someone in a gorilla suit, Wathne said.
The movement gained momentum and National Geographic Explorer filmed a documentary about Ivan before he was released, titled "Urban Gorilla."
"Support started coming in from both coasts," Coleman said.
Facing pressure from zoological and animal rights communities, the store in 1994 donated Ivan to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. He was moved to Zoo Atlanta on permanent loan in October 1994.
Woodland Park Zoo didn't have enough room for Ivan and chose Zoo Atlanta because the staff already had experience with socializing a solitary gorilla.
"Any captive gorilla would dream of Zoo Atlanta. He hit a home run when he ended up there," Wathne said.
The community was overwhelmingly in favor of moving Ivan, she explained.
"Even people who had been looking at Ivan since they were children recognized that this was not a good situation for him. Many people were sorry to see him go, but they knew he deserved better," Wathne said.
Zoo Atlanta offered free admission to anyone from Washington state so that they could see their old friend, she added.
Wathne contacted her former co-workers on Tuesday morning after learning of his death.
"It's sad to know that he is gone but we're just so glad that he had lived to be 50; that he had 18 very, very good years at Zoo Atlanta," she said.
Ivan was compatible with a number of female gorillas who lived in the same habitat over the years and was seen mating at least once, but he never fathered any offspring. He formed close, lasting bonds with his keepers.
"This is a tremendous loss to the Zoo Atlanta family, and it is a loss that spans two coasts. It's because of the great love Ivan inspired in his years on the West Coast that the wheels were ultimately put in motion to have him join us here at Zoo Atlanta," said Raymond King, president and CEO.
Ivan was known to dislike cool or damp weather and was often seen using a burlap bag to protect his feet from dewy grass. He also seemed to enjoy painting and was known to "sign" his works with a thumbprint.
Gorillas are considered geriatric after the age of about 35. Ivan was one of four Zoo Atlanta gorillas who are 50 years old or older. The other seniors are females Shamba, 53, and Choomba, 50, along with Ozzie, 51, the oldest male gorilla living in captivity in the world.
Weekly Herald reporter Ashley Stewart contributed to this story.
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