Ape Ape hooray! World's oldest gorilla celebrates her 69th birthday

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:03, 14 April 2026 | Updated: 01:03, 14 April 2026 The world's oldest gorilla celebrated her 69th birthday with a feast on Monday - munching on cherry tomatoes, beetroots, leeks and lettuce at the Berlin Zoo. But there was no birthday cake, because sugar is not healthy for the ageing primate. Fatou, a western lowland gorilla who lives in captivity, arrived in what was then West Berlin in 1959. She was believed to be about two years old at the time, and though her exact birthdate is not known, April 13 is her designated birthday. Gorillas can live for around 35 to 40 years in the wild and longer in captivity. Fatou became the zoo's oldest resident in 2024, following the death of Ingo the flamingo. The bird was believed to be at least 75 and had lived at the zoo since 1955. Fatou was likely born in the wild in western Africa but the story goes that a French sailor took her out of Africa and bartered her to cover his bar tab in Marseille, France, according to Guinness World Records. Fatou, the world's oldest gorilla, celebrated her 69th birthday at the Berlin Zoo on Monday  She was treated to a feast of cherry tomatoes, beetroots, leeks and lettuce to mark the impressive milestone Here Fatou is pictured in her enclosure at the Zoologischer Garten zoo in Berlin A French animal trader then reportedly sold her to the zoo. These days, Fatou lives in an enclosure of her own and prefers to keep her distance from the zoo's other gorillas in her old age. She has lost her teeth and she suffers from a touch of arthritis and hearing loss. But Christian Aust, the Berlin Zoo's primate supervisor, said she is friendly with the zookeepers, if still a bit stubborn. Born in the wild in West Africa, Fatou was brought to Berlin in 1959. Her age then was estimated to two years Gorillas can live for around 35 to 40 years in the wild and longer in captivity The story goes that a French sailor took her out of Africa and bartered her to cover his bar tab in Marseille, France A French animal trader then reportedly sold her to the zoo Fatou lives in an enclosure of her own and prefers to keep her distance from the zoo's other gorillas in her old age Here the 69-year-old western lowland gorilla picks at the feast she was gifted to mark the special occassion  Fatou became the Berlin Zoo's oldest resident in 2024, following the death of Ingo the flamingo No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.