As of Monday, August 27, 2012
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Gwinnett Daily Post
In a Friday, Nov. 29, 1996 file photo, Ivan, one of Zoo Atlanta's resident silverback gorillas, chews on his finger in his exhibit at the zoo in Atlanta. Zoo officals say Ivan died Monday, Aug. 19, 2012. Zoo Atlanta says 50-year-old Ivan never regained consciousness after he was put under general anesthesia Monday for a diagnostic assessment. The zoo says the geriatric ape had recently lost weight, seemed to lack appetite and had a respiratory illness. Ivan had lived at Zoo Atlanta since 1994. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
ATLANTA — Atlanta's zoo plans to hold a memorial service for Ivan, a 50-year-old gorilla, who died last week.
Zoo Atlanta says the memorial will be held September 8 at 11 a.m. in the rainforest exhibit where Ivan lived. Fans are invited to share cards and photos to be displayed outside his habitat.
Ivan came to Zoo Atlanta on permanent loan from Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo in 1994. He was born in the wild around 1962 and wildlife traders sold him to the owners of a department store in Tacoma, Wash., in 1964. A few years later, he was moved to an indoor enclosure at the store.
According to the wishes of Ivan's original owners and Woodland Park Zoo, Ivan's remains will be cremated and returned to the original owners in Tacoma.
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