Snowflake, the ablino gorilla

Snowflake was a rare albino, Western lowland gorilla born in 1964. In 1966, in what is now  Equatorial Guinea, primatologist Jordi Sabater Pi captured Snowflake (originally named Nfumi Ngu, or Fang), who brought him to theBarcelona zoo.

The two-year-old gorilla was soon renamed Floquet de Neu (Catalan) or Copito de Neive (Spanish).

 

 

 

Most of the world knew this delightful gorilla toddler as Snowflake, so nicknamed by National Geographic magazine.

Sabater Pi is a world-famous primatologist who specialized in animal behavior. Among his credits (besides the discovery of Snowflake) is the discovery of the use of tools by chimpanzees.

Last year, I saw a PBS special on Snowflake, and it was most interesting. When Snowflake was first brought to the Barcelona zoo, he stayed at the zookeeper's house, where he was hand-fed and dressed in baby clothes

Snowflake was raised with a lot of love (and human contact) and was well -behaved. When he was still a young gorilla, he was brought to live in an outdoor exhibit, where many visitors the world over soon saw this world-famou gorilla.

Snowflake was kept outdoors in a solitary cell and fed meat, the customary practice of the time.  Zookeepers fed Snowflake at specific times during the day.

 

 

 

He had a few 'toys' to keep him occupied, but no companions.  He seemed depressed. He wanted to live as a gorilla would live. The 1960s and early 1970s were early in the study of gorillas.

The zookeepers were then informed that they could make a positive impact upon Snowflake's life simply by introducing greens – branches and grasses – for him, that he could rummage through during the day and choose what he wanted to eat.

 

Gorillas forage, the zookeepers were told. Snowflake needed to forage. As I heard this, (watching the PBS special last year- a rebroadcast --) I was reminded of how we, as people, need to shop: not only do we go to the grocery to shop for food, we also go to make choices – what we want, what we think we might want, what we don't want. We are foraging. We are primates.

So zookeepers provided foraging greens for Snowflake. They also found a suitable gorilla companion for Snowflake, another young male gorilla. Snowflake and his friend foraged, played and delighted visitors for years.
 

 

 

During Snowflake's life at the Barcelona zoo, he had a prodigious reproductive life.

He was given three female gorillas, with whom he sired 22 offspring, 6 of whom survived to adulthood. None of his offspring was albino.

 

It is not known how many albino gorillas exist in the wild, but Snowflake was the only albino to live in captivity.

In 2001, Snowflake developed a rare and malignant skin cancer, possibly relating to his albinism. It was clear to zookeepers that he was dying. By late 2003, Snowflake's pain was evident.

A press release went out worldwide that Snowflake would soon die. Many visitors flocked to the Barcelona zoo for one last look at their beloved Snowflake.

He was euthanized in November of 2003. Snowflake was believed to have been between 38 and 40 years old at the time of his death. Gorillas in the wild live an average of 25 years.

His youngest son died in 2003.

I don't know if Snowflake has any living progeny, offspring of his own children.

His photo was on countless postcards from the Barcelona zoo and he was featured in several books, as well as TV specials, during his lifetime.