Pogo (1958 – May 24, 2006) was a female
western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...
who was a feature of the Gorilla World exhibit at the
San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo and Gardens is a zoo located on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, in the southwestern corner of the city between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance (o ...
. Pogo was a childless but motherly matriarch, loved by generations of San Franciscans. When she died at the age of 48, she was believed to have been one of the oldest living gorillas in
captivity
Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...
.
Life
Early years
Pogo was born in 1958, in the
rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
s of
French Cameroon
French Cameroon, also known as the French Cameroons (), was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon.
Eastern part of the former German colony of Cameroon (). Its status, from ...
,
where she was part of a gorilla troop that included Bwana, a gorilla who would eventually find his way to the Zoo in 1959. Pogo was orphaned after her parents were killed, most likely for
bushmeat
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...
. She was adopted by American missionaries and a nurse in a
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
leper colony
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy.
'' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...
, where she rode motorcycles, dressed up in clothes, and attended tea parties.
In 1961, at the age of three, Pogo was purchased by philanthropist Carroll Soo-Hoo, and donated to the San Francisco Zoo.
Captivity
In the late 1980s, Pogo moved into Gorilla World, a large habitat for western lowland gorillas, covering almost an acre of land, with trees, grasses, and rocky outcroppings.
Here, Pogo helped raise one male, silverback Oscar Jonesy, and three female gorillas, Zura, Bawang, and Bawang's daughter Nneka.
[ ]
Pogo was fond of a gorilla doll given to her by her keeper, and was often seen carrying it on her back and under her arm, and sleeping with the doll.
Pogo also enjoyed playing games with people in the viewing area of Gorilla World. She would often pound on the large break-proof glass window and make faces. One writer described Pogo as "stubborn"; she enjoyed sitting outside alone in the rain while the other animals huddled for cover. In 2005,
primate behavior
Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians (monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 millio ...
specialist Joanne Tanner described Pogo as a "mature auntie gorilla".
Death
In her last years, Pogo suffered from medical conditions related to her age, including heart problems,
arthritis
Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
, and disc disease in her lower back, and spent her time napping.
Gorilla keeper Mary Kerr, who had been caring for Pogo since 1981, found her dead on the morning of May 24, with her favorite doll by her side, and the stems from two bunches of grapes she had eaten the night before. It is thought that she died in her sleep.
She weighed when she died.
According to San Francisco Zoo senior veterinarian, Dr. Freeland Dunker, "We did what we could and regularly administered medications to ease her discomfort and control her conditions. Nonetheless, over the past five months in particular, she slowed down noticeably and her appetite diminished. Despite the efforts of veterinary staff, her condition continued to gradually decline."
Pogo's remains were donated to the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...
for anthropology research.
The death of Pogo brought back renewed heart ache of gorilla lovers who remembered a special albino gorilla called
Snowflake
A snowflake is a single ice crystal that is large enough to fall through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. 1, pp. 100–107.Hobbs, P.V. 1974. Ice Physics. Oxford: C ...
from the Barcelona Zoo who died in 2001. Snowflake is believed to have been a distant relative of Pogo who also carried the albino gene but was not albino.
Notes
*Western lowland gorillas have been known to live 30 to 35 years in their natural habitat and 35–45 years in captivity.
Other aged captive gorillas include Massa (54) at the
Philadelphia Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...
and Rudy (49) at the
Erie Zoo.
References
{{Notable apes
Individual gorillas
1958 animal births
2006 animal deaths
Individual primates in the United States