1956: First Gorilla Born in Captivity

Colo, the first gorilla in history who was born in captivity (in a zoo) came into the world in 1956. It was a female gorilla, named Colo after the American city where she was born (Colo stands for COLumbus, Ohio). Namely, Colo was born at the Columbus zoo. Colo is still alive today and is the oldest gorilla specimen in the world that lives in a zoo (since she is already in her late 50s). In the Columbus zoo, Colo is even the oldest animal of all.

Colo had her first offspring when she was 11 years old, after mating with Bongo, a male from Africa. Since generations alternate faster in gorillas than in humans, Colo already became a great-grandmother in 2003.