Willie B.

Willie B. the silverback Gorilla who was born in the wild in Africa, came to the Grant Park Zoo as a baby in 1961 and lived in Atlanta for 39 years, until his death in February of 2000. For 27 years, Willie B. lived in a dingy concrete room, watched soaps and played on his tire swing. In the 1980s, Atlanta's zoo was known as one of the country's worst, and it lost its accreditation. As a way to modernize the facilities, Willie B. was moved into fancy indoor-outdoor digs and allowed to socialize and raise a family. He fathered five gorilla babies at Zoo Atlanta: Kudzoo, Olympia, Sukari, Kidogo, and Lulu. Kidogo, the only male offspring, took on the name Willie B., Jr. after his father died, taking his place as the heir. When he died at the age of 41, he was the oldest Gorilla in the United States to have fathered offspring. 8,000+ attended the memorial ceremony held in his honor, and the zoo now has a life-size bronze statue of him on permanent display outside the Gorilla exhibit. His remains were cremated. 80% of his remains were kept in a bronze box in the bronze statue at Zoo Atlanta and the other 20% were flown back to the African jungle.