Harambe’s sperm was collected after he died so he could continue his blood line

Back in 2016, a gorilla was killed after a little kid got into his zoo enclosure.

And it quickly became one of the greatest meme series of all time. The gorillarest of all time, some might say.

Yeah, I’m sorry.

Obviously, I’m talking about Harambe, the large adult male gorilla who lived in Cincinnati Zoo.

It was decided that for the safety of the child, the giant ape was shot dead.

Rest in peace king.

If you mourned this internet legend along with the rest of the world, you may be pleased to hear his legacy, somewhat, lives on in more ways than you thought.

That's because it turns out that Harambe’s bloodline did not die with him, because his sperm was taken after his death so that there may one day be the pitter-patter of tiny gorilla feet, bearing the same genetic make-up as the internet’s unlikely hero.

Despite the fact that Harambe was 17-years-old and had not reached breeding maturity at the time of his death, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens director Thane Maynard said in 2016: “There’s a future.

"It’s not the end of his gene pool."

Harambe movie

The details since then have been pretty thin on the ground, as we can’t fully be sure whether any children were ever born from Harambe’s sperm.

But Cincinnati Zoo has a very successful breeding programme for apes and monkeys, having seen more than 50 born over a history stretching more than 50 years.

In truth, Harambe himself was brought to the zoo having been born in captivity in Texas to be a part of that breeding programme.

However, he met an untimely end on that fateful day back in 2016.

One thing is for certain – he’ll never be forgotten, having passed over into the rarefied air of online celebrity and immortality.

While he may never have children – in life or in death – he will always have an army of internet acolytes who remember his story, and – for whatever reason – choose to get their d***s out over it.

Harambe movie

When all is said and done, that’s probably what he really wanted, isn’t it?

But perhaps a better way of remembering him is the release of new documentary, Harambe.

Yeah, that’s right, the fella’s got a whole show about him.

Released this Sunday (24 September) on World Gorilla Day, obviously, the feature-length doc follows what happened to the meme-maker to explore the contentious topic of animal captivity.

It will also feature ‘rare unreleased photos and video of Harambe’ with an interview with his, and this isn’t made up, ‘personal photographer’.

Harambe has a virtual world premiere on 24 September.

Topics: Harambe, Animals, Science

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_