Devastating Loss Of Popular Animal At The Buffalo Zoo

Every year, approximately 400,000 people visit the array of animals at the historic Buffalo Zoo. 

The Buffalo, New York staple, located within Delaware Park, is one of the oldest in the United States, dating back to 1870 when a pair of deer were presented to the city as a gift.

Over the years, more and more animals were added to the city’s collection, and today, the Buffalo Zoo is home to more than 1,200 animals of a variety of different species throughout the world. 

Frequent visitors to the zoo get attached to their favorite animal friends (can we forget how many of us went there to swoon over the recent addition of the adorable lion cubs?), and some have spent years watching these popular animals grow and thrive. 

So when one of these beloved animals passes on, it’s an incredibly sad loss for our community - not to mention the caretakers and zookeepers who have looked after them for years.

Buffalo Zoo Announces Painful Loss

The Buffalo Zoo has revealed their Gorilla House has suffered a heartbreaking loss to their large family. 

The Zoo announced on Thursday afternoon that Koga, a 36-year-old silverback gorilla that had lived at the Buffalo Zoo for close to 17 years, has passed away.

Koga was an adored member of the Gorilla House since he arrived at the zoo in 2007, fathering three offspring during his time there. Two of his offspring, Amari and Kayin, were recently relocated to other zoos. However the third, Nyah, is still housed at the zoo along with three other females - Sidney and Lily. 

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In a social media post, the Buffalo Zoo revealed that Koga had been treated by their veterinarians for heart disease for many years, however his sudden death was due to an unexpected cardiac event.

Rest In Peace, Koga. Our hearts go out to the fellow animal lovers who looked forward to visiting him, and to the caretakers at the Buffalo Zoo who spent the valuable time and energy to make sure he could be shared with us for so many amazing years.