Goma

Goma (23rd September 1959 - 7th June 2018) was a gorilla, who was the 4th oldest known living gorilla in the world from the death of Vila on the 27th January 2018 until her death on the 7th June 2019. She is currently the 6th oldest known gorilla in the world after Fatou, Trudy, Helen, Vila, and Colo. She was a resident of the Basel Zoo in Germany and the first gorilla to be born in a European Zoo, as well as the second gorilla to be born in a zoo, anywhere in the world.

She was born on the 23rd September 1959, the Basel Zoo feared that her inexperienced mother might not look after her well, so the then director of the Basel Zoo, Ernst Lang took Goma home. When she was about one, she was introduced to a Male, Pepe, of a similar age. Both were reintroduced to Goma’s family, however they were initially rejected due to their unusual upbringing, however Goma was accepted in the last 20 years of her life. In 1971, she gave birth to her son, Tamtam who was the first gorilla born to a zoo-born gorilla as well as being the gorilla raised from birth by a silverback gorilla in a zoo. After losing her appetite and becoming more tired, she died on the 7th June 2018 at the age of 58, she was the 4th oldest living gorilla at that time, After her death, Old Bob became the 4th oldest gorilla in the world as well as the 2nd oldest gorilla in Europe.