Global Animal Memorial

A long-term public-interest archive preserving animal stories, memorial records, source-based case files, and human-animal coexistence memories.

Animal Stories

Ivan: the gorilla moved from mall display to zoo care

2012-08-21 Democratic Republic of Congo / Tacoma, Washington / Atlanta, Georgia
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Ivan was a western lowland gorilla who spent about 27 years in a shopping-center enclosure before advocacy moved him to zoo care; he died in 2012.

Democratic Republic of Congo / Tacoma, Washington / Atlanta, Georgia

Public-source image of Ivan, Wikimedia Commons image saved locally.
Public-source image of Ivan, Wikimedia Commons image saved locally.

Story

Ivan spent decades in a shopping-center enclosure before public advocacy moved him into zoo care.

The archive keeps the real animal life distinct from later fictional adaptations inspired by him.

Ivan is archived because public pressure can change the conditions of an individual captive animal.

Sources

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