Cincinnati Zoo · May 28, 2016

Harambe's REVENGE

Harambe was a western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. He was shot on May 28, 2016, after a child entered his enclosure. This page keeps that record, and the words of the people who knew him.

Year check Remembered

Years old

1999

Year of birth

400+

Pounds

Days since

Harambe was my heart. It’s like losing a member of the family. — Jerry Stones
He was like one of my sons. — Jerry Stones
The family was so fond of Harambe that he was affectionately referred to as my adopted son. — Dan Van Coppenolle
An old man can cry, too. — Jerry Stones

Harambe was my heart. It’s like losing a member of the family. Jerry Stones

He was like one of my sons. Jerry Stones

The family was so fond of Harambe that he was affectionately referred to as my adopted son. Dan Van Coppenolle

An old man can cry, too. Jerry Stones

Harambe was my heart. It’s like losing a member of the family. Jerry Stones

He was like one of my sons. Jerry Stones

The family was so fond of Harambe that he was affectionately referred to as my adopted son. Dan Van Coppenolle

An old man can cry, too. Jerry Stones

Remembered

The people who raised him, and the man who named him, spoke of him as one of their own.

A person in a hat stands before a zoo board labeled Honoring Harambe, covered with handwritten notes, hearts, and printed photographs of a silverback gorilla. — Notes and photographs left for Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo, June 12, 2016. The printed pictures on the board are of him. Photograph by Kyle McCarthy, CC BY-SA 2.0.

A brick among green plants, engraved HARAMBE, 1999 to 2016, Cincinnati. — A brick engraved for him, photographed in Grand Rapids, Ohio, on April 14, 2023. Photograph by Tim Ide, CC BY 2.0.

He was a special guy in my life. Harambe was my heart. It’s like losing a member of the family.

He was like one of my sons.

Jerry Stones, who raised him from birth at Gladys Porter Zoo

Record

1999

Birth

Harambe was born at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, on May 27, 1999.
2014

Cincinnati

He was moved to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2014. Keepers described him as even-tempered. He weighed more than 400 pounds.
2016

May 28

A three-year-old child climbed into the Gorilla World enclosure. Zoo staff shot Harambe. He was 17.
2016

Afterward

Vigils and murals followed. People who knew him spoke of him as family.
2026

This site

A public record of his life and his death.

We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made. — Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo
I’m not here to decide what was right and what was wrong; the fact is that a gorilla who just celebrated his birthday has been killed. — Anthony Seta, at the vigil
These are like your children. — Jerry Stones

We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made. Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo

I’m not here to decide what was right and what was wrong; the fact is that a gorilla who just celebrated his birthday has been killed. Anthony Seta, at the vigil

These are like your children. Jerry Stones

We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child’s life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made. Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo

I’m not here to decide what was right and what was wrong; the fact is that a gorilla who just celebrated his birthday has been killed. Anthony Seta, at the vigil

These are like your children. Jerry Stones

Fun

Oracle bots

Harambe's REVENGE

Remembered

Record

Birth

Cincinnati

May 28

Afterward

This site

Fun