The White House marked the 10th anniversary of Harambe's death with a social media post that called the gorilla “a true patriot,†according to The Guardian. The post came on Wednesday, on what would have been Harambe's 27th birthday, and said his legacy still lived on in internet history and American culture.
Harambe was a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo when he was shot and killed on May 28, 2016, after a 3-year-old boy entered his enclosure, according to WLWT. Zoo officials said they believed the child's life was in danger, and the boy survived with minor injuries.
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Lasting impact at the zoo
The incident drew worldwide attention and turned Harambe into a lasting internet symbol, with memes, tributes and repeated references across social media, The Guardian noted. It also led to safety changes at the Cincinnati Zoo, which reopened Gorilla World more than a year later with a barrier fence that was six inches higher and included knotted rope netting, per WLWT.
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According to The Guardian, the story has remained part of online culture for years, with Harambe's name appearing in satirical petitions, mock memorials and jokes about public honors. The White House post revived that attention a decade after the zoo's most famous tragedy.
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