‘A beautiful soul,’ beloved gorilla Toni dies
Known for COLUMBUS — bursting into song in anticipation of dinner, her latein-life role as a foster mom to three young gorillas and unafraid to show off to her troop, zookeepers and visitors to Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Toni was a one of kind.
The 48-year-old western lowland gorilla died Sunday after the zoo’s Congo Expedition Region and animal health care teams made the difficultdecisiontohumanely euthanize Toni following a series of cardiac complications, Audra Meinelt said.
Meinelt, curator of the zoo’s Congo Expedition Region, had been working with Toni since 2008. She watched Toni’s evolution as an older femalewho had seven children, andwas mostly uninterested inmotherhood, into a caring foster momto three young gorillas — Kamoli, Kamina and Zahra — over the last seven years.
“Toni was like a mother completely to Zahra,” Meinelt said. “They were tight and itwas just so heartwarming to see this evolution of Toni’s interest and
personalitychangesandhow much she got out of taking care of these foster kids in her later years.”
Originally born in the Columbus zoo on Dec. 28, 1971, to mother Colo and father Bongo, Toni was the last surviving offspring of Colo, whowas the first gorilla born in captivity and the oldest known gorilla in the world when she died at 60 in 2017.
After spending a 12-year stint at the Detroit Zoo from 1996 to 2008, Toni moved
back home to Columbus.
She lived in a troop with male silverback gorilla, Mac, other adult female gorillas and young gorillaswho took to Toni, especially Zahra, whose parents died weeks after she was born in Milwaukee.
“Watching her when we first introduced Zahra to her, being able to step up and give this orphaned, female gorilla what she needed to feel comfortable and have a family again was just wonderful,” Meinelt said.
The curator said it was heartwarming to see Toni have these maternal experiences later in life that she didn’t choose to have at a younger age.
“There were times when we would laugh that Toni was the only adult in the room,” she added. “Left with all the kids crawling all over her while the other adults took a nap.”
A post on the zoo’s Facebook page on Monday said that the gorilla had a presence matched only by her late mother, Colo.
“Toni’s care teamsays she carried herself with a quiet, confident, and content disposition and was a beautiful soul,” the post said. “PleasekeeptheCongoExpedition team and the many others who loved Toni in your thoughts.”
Meinelt said the zoo has a long-standing commitment to gorilla conservation and has been overwhelmed by the support fromtheColumbus community and people across the country who followthe zoo on social media and are familiar with their gorillas.
“We know they’re grieving just asmuch aswe are,” she said.