Jenny (gorilla) facts for kids

Jenny was a special western lowland gorilla who lived at the Dallas Zoo in Dallas, Texas. When she passed away in 2008, she was 55 years old. This made her the oldest gorilla living in zoos around the world at that time! An organization called Species360 confirmed she was the oldest earlier that year.

Meet Jenny the Gorilla

Jenny was born in the wild, so nobody knows her exact birthday. She came to the Dallas Zoo in 1957 and lived there for the rest of her life. In 1965, Jenny had a daughter named Vicki. However, Jenny didn't have any more babies after that. Because of this, Jenny became part of a study in America. Scientists wanted to learn about how menopause (when an animal can no longer have babies) affects gorillas. When Vicki was five years old, she moved to a zoo in Alberta, Canada.

A Special Birthday

In May 2008, the Dallas Zoo threw a big party for Jenny's 55th birthday! She even got a special birthday cake made of frozen fruit.

Saying Goodbye

Jenny stayed quite healthy for most of her life, weighing about 218 pounds (99 kilograms). But during her last few weeks, doctors found a tumor in her stomach that couldn't be removed. She stopped eating and drinking. On September 4, 2008, at 55 years old, Jenny was gently put to sleep at the Dallas Zoo. This was a difficult decision made to ensure she didn't suffer and had a good "quality of life" in her final moments.

A gorilla's normal life expectancy (how long they usually live) in the wild is about 30 to 35 years. So, Jenny lived a very long life for a gorilla!

After Jenny, a gorilla named Colo became the world's oldest known gorilla. Colo lived at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and was the first gorilla ever born in a zoo. She lived to be 60 years old and passed away on January 17, 2017.