Colorado Zoo Bids Farewell to Beloved + Oldest Resident Gorilla

When one thinks of famous gorillas, a few key figures immediately come to mind. Of course, there's the fictional terrorizer King Kong, but there are also memories of the famous Harambe as well as Koko, the gorilla that communicated via sign language to, most famously, Robin Williams.

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However, while arguably not as famous as Harambe or Koko, a 48-year-old gorilla who resided at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was, until earlier this month, just as beloved.

Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Bid Farewell to Roxie the Gorilla

If you spent time at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs and checked out the gorillas, you most likely laid eyes upon the most famous primate in the state of Colorado, Roxie.

Roxie was a female western lowland gorilla who was born in the zoo back in 1976, where she lived until her passing on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

Prior to her passing, Roxie was the longest-living resident of the zoo and was known to be playful and loving both to her keepers, but also to her fellow gorillas.

In addition to being the longest-living animal at the zoo, Roxie was the fifth longest living western lowland gorilla known to be in zoo captivity in the United States, as well as the third longest living female western lowland gorilla.

Roxie passed away peacefully this past Tuesday at the age of 48 after zoo personnel deemed that her declining health due to old age required her to be euthanized humanely.