Vila, one of world’s oldest gorillas, dies at 60 in San Diego Zoo

The Congo-born western lowland female ape was estimated to have been born in 1957 and was hand-raised in the zoo.

This undated photo provided by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park shows Vila, an African gorilla. Considered to be one of the world’s oldest gorillas, Vila died on January 25, 2018 aged 60, at the park in Escondido, California. Authorities say Vila had served as a surrogate mother for several western lowland gorillas.

One of the world’s oldest known gorillas, Vila, died at the age of 60 on Thursday at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, local media reported.

The African-born western lowland gorilla was estimated to have been born in 1957 in the Congo and was hand-raised at the San Diego Zoo, according to the zoo’s website.

“She will be missed by zoo members, guests, volunteers and staff,” Randy Rieches, curator of mammals at Safari Park said in a media statement, The San Diego Union-Tribune and other media reported late Friday.

Zoo officials did not disclose the cause of death to the media and a spokesperson was not immediately available.

Sort of a matriarch

Vila was the matriarch of five generations of gorillas, largest of the great apes, the zoo’s website said. The species typically has a lifespan of 30 to 40 years in the wild, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

The species is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.