Get ready to swing from the vines and beat your chest in celebration because Fatou, the world's oldest gorilla, is turning 67 at the Berlin Zoo!
Born back in 1957, this silverback sensation has seen it all - from the rise of disco to the age of smartphones.
Fatou was just two years old when she first came to Berlin Zoo (the most visited zoo in Europe), but she has gone on to become a powerful matriarch to a huge family of gorillas. She is not only a grandmother of two, but a great-grandmother of 13, and a great-great and great-great-great-grandmother to more than 20 descendants!
Her firstborn, Dufte, would become the first gorilla ever to be raised from birth in Germany's capital city.
But despite having such a large family, Fatou prefers the quiet life, opting for solitary in her own enclosure -- and the zoo's oldest resident should get what she wants.
Speaking last year, Berlin Zoo's Ruben Gralki revealed, per News5: "Fatou is free to contact her neighbors at any time if she would like to, but instead she purposefully seeks solitude and stays away from the other gorillas." (Fatou may be my spirit animal.)
But don't let her reserved demeanor fool you — Fatou's got quite the résumé. Earlier this year, she snagged the title of Berlin Zoo's oldest living resident after the passing of Ingo the flamingo. She has also been crowned the oldest living gorilla in 2019 after Trudy from Little Rock's Zoo sadly died. Then, in 2020, Fatou etched her name in the history books as the oldest gorilla to ever walk the earth.
So, how does one celebrate a gorilla grand dame like Fatou? With a feast fit for a queen, of course! Think heaps of fruits, veggies, and edible flowers - all the gorilla favorites that honestly put my birthday feast to shame.
The Zoo's visitors are also being encouraged to join in the festivities by tossing a little extra fruit on their plates in Fatou's honor.
So, here's to you, Fatou! May your bananas be ripe and your vines sturdy as you embark on another trip around the sun. Happy birthday!
