Pattycake, the first gorilla born in New York City, died yesterday at the Bronx Zoo. She was 40.
The great ape died after experiencing cardiac issues, the Wildlife Conservancy Society said in a press release.
“Pattycake was perhaps the best-known gorilla at the Bronx Zoo, and an institution in New York City,” said Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo. “Pattycake was a very special animal and her presence will be deeply missed.”
The gorilla was born to mom Lulu and dad Kongo at the Central Park Zoo in 1972.
After she suffered a broken arm at the age of 5 months, she was briefly treated at the Bronx Zoo.
She moved to the Bronx permanently in the 1980s.
Pattycake, a western lowland gorilla, gave birth to 10 babies while at the Bronx Zoo.
Her children currently live in various zoos around the country.